Invictus
by chocolatemud14
Summary: "Beyond this place of wrath and tears, looms but the horror of the shade. And yet the menace of the years finds, and shall find me, unafraid." Semi-AU Peyton Sawyer story: what happens when Peyton's 16 year-old cousin comes to live with her? It will turn Peyton's world upside down, but she vows to stay by her cousin in the end, no matter what. Season 5; angsty LP *Hiatus*
1. Prologue

_Hello All. The time has come again. This is a story that popped into my head long ago, and now I can see it on paper. __Everything in this story is going to be taking place in Season Five. Some events will be more based on what happens in the show than others… some not at all. _

_There will be some LP for sure…let me tell you all right now, though. I nearly hated Lucas in Season 5. He was mean spirited and bitter…quite possibly the worst version of himself, in my opinion. So I don't know if he's worthy enough to be placed with Peyton in this fic. It isn't really about Lucas and Peyton anyway, to tell you the truth. It's more Peyton-centric. Don't worry. I have a Sawyer love interest up my sleeve._

_This story is drama filled. I promise. Warning: it's got some strong situations and themes that might be too dark for some. _

**Invictus**

Prologue

_Out of the night that covers me_

_black as the pit from pole to pole_

_I thank whatever Gods may be for my unconquerable soul._

_-x-x-x-x-x-x_

_The sounds of their thumping feet are so loud I think the ceiling might fall. Even the sound of my nervous beating heart isn't enough to drown it all out. Coach is eyeing me, telling me to stay calm. I have a chill that's making my skin feel stone cold, I have a feeling in the pit of my stomach that might turn it inside out. But I can't wait to get through those doors. They open… a rush of air…. I see the beams of light... the massive crowds. As I step both feet onto the field, and feel the grass beneath my feet… I know this is the feeling Coach was telling me about. And I feel even better when I hear them scream my name. _

"_Bennett! Bennett!" _

_I hear the thumps of their feet, and I know they can't wait till kickoff. _

_It's all I've ever dreamed. It's even better. I feel invincible. _

-_x-x-x-x-x-x_

Her eyes open; and she's not in Camp Nou. She's not able to look up and see the million stars she knows are somewhere in the sky. She's not where she knows her dreams come true. Instead she's at the place she knows will make sure her dreams fade away.

She jolted from under the covers when she heard a crash from the floor below. Thinking something bad happened, she shrugged the covers off her tired body and in a millisecond, like she'd known in training, she was at the source of the noise: bounding downstairs to the living room. "What the hell!" she exclaimed loudly when she saw the broken glass that crashed against the wall. The only person close enough to hear her was the tall, dark haired, sullen man in the kitchen.

"It slipped," he said quietly. His back is turned, so the teenager couldn't really hear him.

She said nothing. The ticking from the grandfather clock was the only thing she heard… and even that was too much for her.

He stood there for a few seconds, and the air in the room became tense. He turned quickly on his feet, and started to harshly pull open every single kitchen drawer, taking out all of its contents and throwing it on the floor, creating a huge mess. When he couldn't find what he was looking for, he slammed the drawers shut and moved to the cabinets.

"What are you doing?"

He looked up, his lost blue eyes finally registering that she was standing before him. Breathing hard, he asked, "Where are my car keys?"

The teenager stands rooted to the spot. She'd hid them in a seemingly empty tissue box in the back of the cabinet in her upstairs bathroom.

His fists clenched, the veins in his face became more prominent the more time that goes by that he doesn't get an answer. "Where are they?"

"I don't know."

"Give them to me."

The teenager remained firm; and she took a step forward toward the broken glass. She tried to avoid the shards; yet still the distinct smell of scotch seeped up her nostrils, and she's forced to shut her eyes in complete contempt. Even if she does… it doesn't drown out the all-knowing voice in the back of her head.

_Another day. Another drink. _

"You're drunk." she told him steadily, and she crossed her arms protectively over her chest. It couldn't have been more obvious: the redness in his eyes, the twitch in his right wrist; not being able to stay on his on two feet without having to lean his elbow on the marble counter.

"You hid them. Why did you hide them?" He started laughing, but it's completely humorless. Pushing the weight off his palms, he staggered in his drunken stupor toward the girl in the room.

"I'm not going to let you drive drunk and end up killing someone."

He stared at her for a good minute. But then he laughed again, holding his hands up in surrender. "Fine… if you… if you won't let me drive." He's wagging his finger at her, his slurred speech getting more severe as all the alcohol in his system was taking its toll. "Then. You go get it." He reaches clumsily into his pocket for his Armani leather wallet, taking out who knows how many dollar bills and throwing them across the room. The crisp green bills floated like feathers through the air and landed by the teenager's toes. She picked every single dollar bill.

376 dollars.

"You want me to spend all of this on alcohol?"

The man shrugged. "What else do we need?" He asked her, motioning to the otherwise empty kitchen. Empty because she hadn't yet gotten the chance to buy groceries.

"You're pathetic."

"You're 12. What the hell do you know?"

"I know enough to see that you're a has been loser who's more interested in getting piss bloody drunk than taking care of his family."

He laughed.

"You don't care about anyone or anything, do you?" she asked him, and in her head she's wondering why she waited so long to confront him. She's mad about that, mad that she wasn't strong enough or brave enough. And she's mad that he allowed her to be that way. "You're a selfish prick."

In that moment she saw his brown eyes darken a shade. "Watch it." he warned her.

"Why should I?"

The man's lips formed a thin line, and his gaze hardened angrily. "Because I said so."

The girl knew it was only because she chose to question his authority, and he found that to be a threat. He always thought he was the best- invincible, unbreakable in everything that he did. It was about time someone gave him a reality check... It wasn't that way anymore. He was pitiful, weak, controlling, and cruel. She dared let her eyes pass to the forbidden picture of a woman they both knew on the mantle. "No wonder she left you."

Before she could prepare herself, the man was on her side of the room in a rage in ten seconds. He grabbed her wrist with his strong hands and he wouldn't let go. She frowned and tried to pull herself free, but he was too strong for her. His fingers were gripping her angrily, and she felt his fingers making a mark on her skin. "You don't know what the bloody hell you're talking about, you idiotic little shit." He was breathing hard down her neck, way too close for comfort.

When she saw him raising his free palm, she decided now was the last straw.

She immediately brought up her right knee, and because her legs were so strong-a proud product of years and years of stretching and exercise and suicides and drills and living with a soccer ball at the tip of her feet…she struck him hard in the groin. He let out a loud shout, and fell on his knees. As soon as she was free of his hold, she bolted for the front door, being sure to pick up her black converse and the small backpack she hid underneath the coat rack. It was already packed for an escape from nights like these.

"JILL!" He screamed from the floor. "Don't you dare walk out that door!"

Jill Bennett turned at the sound of her name, her shoulder length blonde hair wisping behind her. She saw the man who was meant to care and protect her and felt nothing but disgust. "You can rot in hell." She put her hand on the handle of the front door and slammed it behind her, embracing the warm evening light. She propelled her body and ran faster down her block; faster than she had in her entire life.

-x-x-x-x-

"Do you realize how lucky you are, P?" Brooke Davis asked as she cradled her bottle of wine that sat atop the bar situated in the middle of TRIC, the club she so often frequented. Music was thumping from the DJ booth, with young people dancing and laughing around her and her two friends. "Here you have-at your disposal-a fully stocked bar steps away from your office."

Lately, Peyton Sawyer really hadn't been feeling all that lucky. She knew coming back to Tree Hill after being in LA for four years would be no easy task. Rebuilding a life was always scary, especially after her attempt to make her dreams come true on the West Coast had failed miserably. But when she thought about all the wonderful things she left behind in this humble, quiet town (good memories with great friends, great family…a guy) her faith had grown again, her hope resurfacing. When she saw _him_, her heart had felt lighter again, and she knew that as long as she had him, everything would be all right. Unfortunately, all too soon that naïve logic was harshly thrown out of a near window and forgotten about as soon a she saw that the love of her life- the one she wouldn't admit was still in her heart- was invested in a serious relationship with another woman; his editor, no less. At first, Peyton was heartbroken. Heartbroken and lost and upset that they'd squandered a relationship that meant so much to her; something she saw a future in. She was upset that he could leave her. Then, she was angry; angry with him for having left her at the hotel room when she hadn't even said no, when the word never even crossed her mind once. All Peyton was thinking about how she wanted to start a life with him. A life with him granted, not then. But soon…someday. She was angry at herself for even thinking he'd wait for her. But of course she was put in the same position again, where her heart led her head when it came to Lucas Scott.

Peyton would see the way he'd look at her sometimes and she swore she felt a fluttering in her heart. When he offered her in an office at TRIC free of charge…there was a very loud voice in her head telling her it wasn't a "favor" and he knew better, she knew better. She was heart broken again. But tonight was one of those nights where she convinced herself to enjoy her youth. Maybe, just maybe, a sip of wine would dull the ache in her heart that she wished would just _disappear _already.

"Brooke, are you absolutely positive you're not checking out the hot bartender?" Peyton tried her hand at a joke she hoped might make herself laugh.

Millicent just chuckled, she's been Brooke's assistant long enough to answer that question correctly herself.

Brooke looked to Owen, the new hot bartender and does that eyelash flutter smirk thing that Peyton thinks she's got down pat since she was nine. "Hey, you know I hate to lie."

After the last bit of wine had been drunk, Peyton and Brooke arrived to an empty house. Brooke announced she was going to go change, and Peyton headed to the comfort of her own room. Slipping off her heels and falling into her bed, she breathed in the scent of the bed sheets. It was then, when she could angle her head to look out the window, that Peyton decided she didn't want the quiet. She didn't like the quiet, because it made her think…made her think that while she had a great time on her girl's night out it didn't really do anything to help when she was back in her own room, laying in bed alone. As much as she swore she wouldn't, she couldn't help but think about when she used to lie in bed with Lucas. He'd never fail to drape his arms around her; not too tight, just enough to make her feel safe. She'd always shiver when she'd felt his warm inviting breath on her neck, how his lips would drift to kiss her bare shoulder. Suddenly she felt herself remembering the way he smelled, the way he whispered to her when they were about to make love. Maybe it was the wine talking.

Or maybe it was her heart saying how much she'd missed him, and how she just wanted to make it right so they could have something incredible together. Either way, she felt tears start to come out of her eyes.

Luckily, Peyton's thoughts were stopped when she heard a soft buzzing coming from her small purse that was on the edge of the bed. Reaching into it, she realized it was a text message from her father. She frowned in concern. Her father never texted her.

_Please call me. _

Flipping through her phone, Peyton saw everything else she had missed. Seven missed calls, four voice mails. Her heart started to pound in her chest. She couldn't help but think of everything that could be wrong. Was her father sick? Injured? Fired? Homeless? Was it her paternal grandmother who'd had past experiences with pneumonia?

"Peyton, your dad's left like a million messages on the machine," Brooke's concerned voice wafted from behind the door. "Is everything OK?

"I don't know." Peyton replied distractedly, as she pressed the send button that would reach Larry Sawyer.

Brooke instinctively walked into the room and sat at the end of Peyton's bed.

Just a few short rings, and Peyton heard her father's tired voice at the end of the line. _"Hello?" _

"Daddy!" Peyton nearly yelled out. "What's going on? Are you okay?"

_"I've been trying to call you all night."_

"I was out with Brooke, I couldn't hear my phone. But are you okay?" Peyton was panicking now, and she gladly took her best friend's open hand.

_"I'm fine, Peyton. Don't worry about me. But it's…" _he heard her father take an exasperated sigh.

"It's what?"

_"It's Jill." _

Peyton's brows furrowed. What could possibly be going on with her cousin? The one she taught how to play a record in a record player and contributed to more than half of her music collection. The one she used to babysit… the girl who became her little sister when she had no one. Who she helped study for big tests and gave her advice about boys (she's laughing about it now). She only got to see her once or twice a year now, what with moving to LA and back again, and then deciding to stay in Tree Hill permanently, which made it harder for Jill and Peyton to see each other since Jill lived in New York City. The phone calls lessened and emails were scarce. Even if Peyton didn't see Jill as much, it didn't mean she loved her any less. When her father said Jill's name, and when he said it with a tone she couldn't identify, she started to panic. "Jill? What's happened with Jill?"

Brooke perked up at the sound of that name. She hadn't seen Jill in far too long, but Peyton always talked about her and the fun they had and how much she'd missed that.

Larry hesitated and took a breath. _"She showed up at my doorstep a few nights ago." _

Peyton scoffed. "You don't have a doorstep." Larry Sawyer still prided himself as the proud owner of a drudging boat company that's become quite the successful enterprise. Peyton loved her father, she really did. But those lonely nights, the ones she had when she was a teenager where the only option for dinner before she had to teach herself how to cook was cheap microwavable pizza and ramen noodles…were yet to be let go of.

Larry was away so much, Peyton couldn't even find his doorstep. How could Jill?

"_Peyton…" _

"How is she? Dad, why are you calling me about Jill?"

Brooke shared her worried glance.

"_Things are bad, honey."_

Peyton frowned into the receiver. "Bad? What do you mean bad?"

Brooke shifted awkwardly on her feet. Suddenly Peyton's bedroom was getting too small. Thankfully, their doorbell rang. She looked to Peyton. Though she desperately wanted to around her friend and would be there for anything, there was a rather loud voice in her head telling her Peyton needed to be alone for this conversation. Peyton reassured her with a nod, and Brooke knew her suspicions were correct; as soon as the brunette stepped out of the room, the door had been closed behind her.

Brooke had busied herself as best she could once Mia Catalano left…doing meaningless chores like washing the dishes or fluffing the pillows on her expensive couch…remedial things she normally would've put off. The sound of running water coming from the sink helped drown out whatever was going on behind Peyton's door… especially her tears. Brooke could hear her tears anywhere. She didn't want to hear them. Not anymore. Coming to Tree Hill was meant to stop all of that.

Soon, Brooke cleaned every corner of her charming duplex, answered every email for work, watched hours of meaningless television programs….and still her mind was in a scramble. Thoughts of Peyton consumed her. She worried for her friend. It was almost like Peyton could never catch a break. Brooke got up from the couch in her living room and checked the clock above the stove. It was nearing five in the morning. Crap. Peyton had spent three hours behind that door. Brooke's warm brown eyes were heavy with exhaustion, yet she couldn't ignore the concern that burned within her. She padded from the kitchen to the front of Peyton's bedroom door. She held her breath, and listened.

She heard nothing.

Thinking she was mistaken, Brooke slowly placed her cheek against the wooden frame. The walls were pretty thin, so Brooke assured herself she must be able to hear something now, with her ear pressed against the door.

Nothing.

Disappointed, Brooke knew she was too late. Peyton had fallen asleep. She also knew she'd have to wait until morning to find out what had happened. She turned behind to face her bedroom. Her door was open and her bedside lamp was on, as if the room was graciously inviting her in. She scoffed at the irony, shaking her head at how she was going to be able to manage to get through the night.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Brooke didn't need an alarm clock. Her body woke up naturally, and she was thankful that her body had yet to react to the lack of sleep, and she still had a few hours of energy to run off of that would allow her to speak with Peyton. A cup of coffee would help in great amounts, however, and it was with that reasoning that Brooke made her way to the kitchen. The house was sadly quiet, and Brooke distracted herself of that fact with the task of preparing herself and Peyton breakfast. Soon, that task was soon complete, and Brooke approached Peyton's bedroom carrying a tray of fruit and two croissants with coffee- something light. Brooke set the tray down carefully beside the door to try the handle. It was still locked. But that wasn't going to stop her. Brooke purposefully walked quickly back to the kitchen and opened a cabinet, reaching down into a plastic bag that contained long, thin wooden sticks that she could easily snap back. She couldn't recall why she bought them, but this morning she was glad she did. For you see, in the very center of her and Peyton's doorknobs was a tiny, tiny hole that this wooden stick could very well fit through.

Brooke easily convinced herself that this wasn't an invasion of privacy. She'd known Peyton since they were children- invasion of privacy was never an issue if one of the friends were in trouble or needed help. This was one of those times. Brooke didn't hesitate for a second, and stuck the wooden stick into the tiny hole. It easily fit through. She began to twirl the stick in the lock, knowing it had to work. She'd done it before when Peyton had accidentally locked herself out (for reasons she couldn't remember).

In a matter of seconds, the locked clicked open. Brooke retrieved the tray of food and turned the handle, smiling to herself in victory. She opened the door carefully and noiselessly, for she spotted Peyton curled up over the covers, still in last night's clothes. Her cellphone lay by her sleeping body.

Brooke felt a pang of sympathy when she saw how distraught Peyton looked, even in sleep. Her face was flushed and her eyes were swollen. Brooke carefully set the tray down on the bed, sitting with her legs crossed underneath her. She reached over and sweetly brushed the hair from Peyton's face, before whispering her name in an attempt to wake her.

Peyton stirred slightly, but didn't wake. Brooke reached over and rubbed her arm. "Peyton," she tried again. "P Sawyer!" Brooke whispered louder. She shook her ever so gently.

Peyton's eyes fluttered open, and her brows furrowed, wondering why Brooke was at her bedside only momentarily. And only momentarily did she not think of the events that occurred the night before. Her heart sank. Again. "Hey," she whispered, her voice hoarse.

"Hey," Brooke returned kindly. "Good morning."

"Not really." Peyton's back hurt like crazy, her head was pounding- a headache from all the crying- and her face felt so swollen. Nevertheless, she held up the steaming hot mug of coffee to her lips.

"Breakfast?" Brooke suggested.

Peyton smiled at the gesture. She really did get so lucky with her best friend. She wasn't hungry, but she'd try anyway for Brooke's sake. "Sure."

They sat there momentarily, and eat the breakfast together in silence. Both heard birds chirping outside the window… but besides that the room were quiet. Too quiet. Brooke knew the room had bore witness to something heartbreaking last night; an event she couldn't wait any longer to find out about. The air was heavy, heavy and sad. The candles Peyton had lit had long burnt out-even the flames, meant to be symbolize brilliance and serenity…had been overtaken by something so much darker and powerful.

Brooke swallowed hard and looked over her best friend with caring eyes. She decided to be as gentle as she could. "Peyton, what happened last night?"

Peyton took a breath and tried really hard not to cry without giving Brooke an explanation first. She couldn't really talk yet, and thankfully Brooke got that message, grasping Peyton's hand and holding it tightly in hers. "Is everything OK? With Jill?"

Brooke instantly regretted asking about it when Peyton's lips started to quiver. Brooke put her hand on Peyton's shoulder; ready to comfort her in any way she could… even if she didn't understand it.

"Brooke, you know I love you, right?" Peyton asked shakily.

Brooke nodded vigorously. "Of course. I love you too. What's going on?"

Peyton's eyes began tearing. She'd gone over and over this until she'd ended the phone call with her father and fallen asleep due to complete emotional drain. It was scary, and she knew that once and a while she would try and convince herself she couldn't handle what she was about to take on…but there was a reson that her father called _her_ last night and not anyone else. And her heart was screaming at her that this was something she had to do. As she looked into the eyes of her truest friend…she hoped, _hoped_, she would understand. "Brooke…I have to move out." Peyton told her tearfully. "I appreciate everything that you've done for me, but I can't stay…"

Brooke blinked once or twice. Wait, what? "Peyton, honey…can't you tell me what's going on first?" Brooke asked carefully, before she started to tear up herself. She had bought the house with her in mind, but Peyton was there too.

"It's Jill…she's gonna come live with me."

Brooke's eyebrows rose. She'd never expected this. "Really? Now?"

Peyton nodded.

Brooke's mind was spinning. When was this decided? When she was cleaning? That's insane. "Oh my God, Peyton…that's…" Brooke continued, at a loss for words.

"Huge, I know."

"Is she OK, though?" Brooke asked, referring to the cousin Peyton loved so much.

Peyton took a breath. "I really don't know," she turned to Brooke and looked her right in the eye, unwavering in her glance. "But I want to find out. I want to find out, and I want it to be from her." Brooke had never seen Peyton so firm like this in a long while, and she thinks she's seeing the old Peyton coming back.

"Okay." Brooke felt a bit dizzy. Yes, things were ridiculously fast paced. But fast paced events often called for fast pace actions- which led Brooke to propose an idea that didn't take very long for her to think through. "You don't have to move out, though."

"Of course I do."

"No, you don't. Jill can move in here," Brooke gestured to her lovely household.

Peyton shook her head. "Brooke, no… that's unbelievable, but I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking," Brooke cut her off. "I'm offering."

"Brooke, I don't want to let you offer. I won't let you. That's too much." Peyton had known Brooke for almost 15 years, yet the brunette's unbridled generosity still stunned her.

"Peyton, I don't want to hear it. Why're you going to waste your money on a new place? We both know it's _never _going to be as fabulous as this one," Brooke flaunted, making Peyton laugh ever so quietly and shake her head. "I did buy it for a reason. There's plenty of room for you and me. _And_ that cousin of yours," Brooke assured her with a smile.

Peyton felt even luckier to have such a great best friend. One that a lot of the times, she felt she didn't even deserve. "I don't think I can accept."

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Ugh, why not? Come on Peyton! I'm serious. I want to do this for you."

"Brooke, you've already done so much for me!" Peyton exclaimed.

Brooke grasped Peyton's hand. "So one more thing for my best friend in the whole world is really no big deal," she said firmly.

Peyton eyed Brooke as carefully as she ever had. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! I'm absolutely positive. It'll be fun! We'll stay up late and eat junk food...rant about boys…" she hinted with a devilish smile on her face, nudging Peyton's shoulder playfully.

"Hopefully your boys," Peyton told her, to which they both laughed. Peyton took a breath, as if this new venture was being finalized, realized, in her mind. "I'm gonna take care of a 16 year old. Oh my God."

Brooke nodded. "I know."

"Maybe I'm not cut out for this," It happened so fast…one minute Peyton finally got her father to tell her what was going on in New York City, and when he began she got scared, so Larry said that he called her because she was really the only suitable one to be left in Jill's care. Peyton's love for her family overcame her and without thinking twice, she accepted to care for Jill.

Brooke sobered up, squeezing Peyton's hand. "You're going to be great, Peyton." She told her confidently. "And Jill's going to love it. Because she loves you."

Brooke had been a first hand witness to their relationship for years, ever since she met Peyton and how Peyton told her what it felt like to hold Jill in her arms for the first time…she knew with their bond, the pair was unstoppable, unwavering. Why else would Peyton immediately say yes to this new, scary responsibility?

"I love her too," Peyton replied truthfully. Brooke brought her into a hug. "I love her too."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_And there's the prologue! What do you all think! Is this worth it? I do think it is, but your opinion matters so much to me. Let me know if you'd like to see Chapter One. _

_Peyton and Jill reunite, and Jill is introduced to a new life in Tree Hill. How will she adjust to such a small town? Gotta wait and find out!_


	2. New Arrivals

_Thanks to __**MichelleBell16 **__and __**cayt326**__ for reviewing! Can always count on you guys!_

_Chapter One_

New Arrivals

_I love to fly. Almost everyone I know is terrified of the idea of going thousands and thousands of feet in the air…but I think it's beyond extraordinary. All you have to do is look out of the window and see all the new places you wish to go someday. I've been to Europe, of course. London and Liverpool to visit my father's family…and the stadiums that made his lavish living came to be my second home. I've been to India…once upon a time years ago when my family was actually happy. Today? I'm going to Tree Hill. Somewhere I haven't been in years, but right now, there's no other place I'd rather be. _

-x-x-x-x-

One month later

"_Flight number 362 from New York City now arriving at Gate 14."_ the female announcer's drone voice filled the large airport terminal in New Brunswick County.

"Isn't that her flight, Peyton?" Brooke asked excitedly.

"Yeah." Peyton answered, and she immediately began to look ahead of her, at the two doors where passengers were filtering through. Herself and Brooke stood in the airports' passenger pick-up, around crowds of excited families awaiting the arrival of their loved ones, with colorful posters welcoming them home from their travels, bouquets of flowers, assortments of balloons clutched in anxious hands.

Brooke squealed, grabbing Peyton's arm. "Are you excited?" She asked softly, turning to her friend. She knew she probably didn't even have to ask. She saw it on Peyton's face.

"A little nervous." Peyton admitted. Herself and Brooke spent the last 30 days counting down until Jill's arrival; getting her new room ready, cleaning the house… it was a fantastic way for Peyton to keep busy. However it wasn't until right then, as she stood in the airport, that she was truly feeling the butterflies in her stomach when more and more people came through those tall, wide-open double doors. Her eyes began to scour the crowd for her cousin.

Brooke playfully nudged her. "Don't be!"

Peyton nodded, though she couldn't help it. She'd never done anything like this before, and she wasn't really sure how to live with a teenager. She'd have to get used to the curfews and no boys in your bedroom rule…that was easy. But everything else…

"I just hope I'm what she needs." Peyton told her best friend softly, but Brooke was busy looking up ahead, and gently tapped Peyton's arm when her eyes lit up.

"Peyton!"

The blonde followed her gaze… and sure enough… a tall, leggy blonde was walking through the double doors, one hand on the cart carrying all her luggage. At first Peyton didn't recognize her…her hair had darkened slightly and gotten longer, she grew who knows how many inches, and she was more…developed. Peyton knew it was going to be tough to keep the boys away now. She looked so mature Peyton was sure Brooke had gotten it all wrong. Since when did her cousin get so beautiful? It was then that she saw the white England soccer jersey that Jill wore, and Brooke was right on the money.

"There she is." Peyton confirmed, and she thought her heart would explode. "Jill!" she called happily.

At the sound of her name, Jill turned slightly to the left and right, and then through her black shades she saw Peyton waving to her. Even from far away Brooke could spot that smile on her face.

"Trust me, you are." Brooke told Peyton, refuting her statement just moments earlier. Peyton glanced to her and Brooke sent her a wink, and soon they were both walking towards Jill, whose step quickened as she dropped the bags she had carried with her on the plane by her feet to go into Peyton's arms.

"Hey!" she greeted in a laugh, hugging Peyton tight.

"Hey Jillie." Peyton whispered with a smile. She returned her embrace just as tightly, and any doubts she might've had at what she was about to do, any voices in her head telling her that she was insane, were completely drowned out- at least for that moment. "It's so good to see you!"

"It's so good to see you too." Jill answered honestly, before Peyton pulled back to see how much she'd grown.

"It took me a while to recognize you!" Peyton told her with a laugh.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Jill joked. She looked Peyton over. "Wow, Luke what's his name must be drooling."

Peyton blushed, and from the corner of her eye she saw Brooke playfully kink her brow and sent her a look that screamed _you wish. _

"Did you have a nice flight?"

"Yeah, it was good. Sucks that I didn't get a chance to sit next to a cute guy though." Jill said nonchalantly, and for a second Peyton was a little shocked. Jill wouldn't normally say that. But then she saw Brooke's expression and she knew why.

"Girl, I love the way you think!" Brooke said with a laugh, and warmly hugged Jill.

Jill playfully brought her hand to her heart. "Awe, from such a world famous designer? I'm so honored!"

"You should be." Brooke joked. She not so discreetly looked over Jill's more mature figure. "Wow, you're hot! Want to model for me?"

Jill blushed and just shook her head. "Will I get paid?" She asked with a straight face. Peyton raised her brows and Brooke didn't really know what to say. "I'm kidding!"

All three girls laughed, Peyton had now taken over the job of pushing Jill's luggage cart. "Thank God, Victoria would have a cow." Brooke said honestly.

"Who's Victoria?" Jill asked curiously, and Peyton and Brooke just looked at her. They began to explain everything about the older woman, and Jill would just raise her brows and shake her head. "All this drama doesn't make me miss New York at all."

Peyton laughed. "Honey, you have no idea."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Wow, Brooke, you live right by the beach? That's awesome." Jill complimented as she jumped out of Brooke's silver car.

Brooke smiled. "I know."

Jill walked up the charming pathway, admiring the surroundings. "It really is, now it's going to be so easy for me to go running in the mornings." Jill said , admiring the beach and the marina up ahead.

"Well then, it's all yours." Brooke told her, and sticking her key in the lock, opened the front door. "Jill, welcome to my humble abode." Brooke announced proudly, gesturing to the warm hallway with yellow walls, the colorful living room, and the spacious kitchen with granite countertop and mahogany cabinets.

Jill whistled in appreciation, looking around the house on her feet. "Brooke, this house is _really _nice. I definitely don't miss New York." Peyton smiled, but when she saw the expression on Jill's face she frowned slightly. At the mention of her old home, she saw Jill become momentarily solemn.

"Jillie, your new room is upstairs, second on the left. That cool?"

Jill snapped out of her trance to reply to Peyton. "Yeah, that's great." She looked to the bags in the hallway beside her. "I think I'll go unpack." she announced, grabbing her things and heading to where Peyton instructed.

Brooke took a breath. "Well, at least that part's over." Brooke hesitated. "You think I was being too nosy in the car? She wasn't answering me…I feel bad now."

Peyton shook her head. "Nah, don't feel bad, Brooke. She just has to get used to being here, that's all." Peyton paused. "Unless you think she's homesick?"

"What?" Brooke joked, as if someone not wanting to be in her house was ludicrous. She brought her hand to rest on Peyton's arm. "There's no way. She just has to get used to being here."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jill's new room wasn't so hard to find. She felt a sense of nervousness and anticipation, since she knew this really was the entrance to her new life. With a pounding heart and shaking hands, Jill curled her fingers around the golden doorknob, turned it to the left, and pushed the door open.

The room was bright and airy, something that Jill wasn't so used to. It was big and had plenty of room, with tall windows and colorful curtains. Above her new bed, there were shelves that went into the wall, like little square boxes. There was a blue shag rug and there was a desk and a lamplight for her to do her work, and Jill noticed that there was plenty of space on the walls for her to put all her posters of Beckham and Rooney and every other soccer player that had inspired her. There was a full bookshelf, every shelf occupied except for one that Peyton had left empty.

The bed had been made nicely, and Peyton had made sure the room was spotless. On the bed, Jill thought she saw a note written on plain white paper. Curious, she put down her belongings at the foot of her beautiful new mahogany dresser along with a mirror, and sat down on a very comfortable mattress with polka dot spread. Gently unfolding the note, she read:

_Welcome to your new room, babe. I hope you love it. Feel free to paint or whatever on the walls, just don't tell Brooke I told you you could because she'll freak. You better fill up that empty shelf row with all your soccer trophies:) _

_I'm really glad you're here. _

_Xoxo, _

_ Peyton_

Jill smiled and gingerly traced over the writing with her fingers. She frowned and felt her eyes prickling. She couldn't remember the last time someone wrote her a little note, much less even a card. She never even got anything for her birthday anymore. Taking a shaky breath to remember that she came here to start over, Jill decided to cool off in a nice shower…to wash away all the old and come out ready for new beginnings.

"Peyton!" Brooke called from the kitchen. She had just finished pouring Peyton a glass of wine. Peyton walked over and sat on a stool by the counter. "So far, so good."

Peyton responded by taking a drink from her wine glass and Brooke laughed.

"So, Haley just called and invited us over to her place for dinner. What do you think?" Brooke twirled her wine glass in her hands nonchalantly.

Peyton sighed. She eyed Brooke suspiciously. "You told Haley Jill was arriving tonight, didn't you?"

"No."

"Brooke."

Brooke sighed and rolled her eyes. "She asked! You know how Tutor Mom can get when she stares you down. It's scary."

"I was kind of hoping Jill could take it easy for tonight." Peyton answered honestly. "We could catch up over pizza or something."

"Pizza?" Brooke asked in disgust. "The girl is from New York City and her first night here you want to feed her Tree Hill pizza? She'll laugh at us. Jill deserves a proper welcome, no?"

Peyton sighed. Brooke had a point there. "I just don't want her to feel too overwhelmed."

Brooke softened and put her hand over Peyton's on the counter. "Honey, if she felt overwhelmed I'm sure she would let you know. Ask her; see what she thinks."

Peyton thought about it for a few more moments before walking over to the stairwell. "Jill?" she called up the stairs. No answer. Peyton made her way up the stairs. She turned to Brooke who was watching from the kitchen. "If she says no, we're doing pizza. I think the pizza here's just _fine._"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Running a brush through her damp hair one more time, and slipping her head through one of her favorite tops, Jill readied herself to unpack every single one of her bags. She was making progress, until she heard a really obnoxious vibrate, signaling her phone was about to go off.

_I Gotta Feeling…that tonight's gonna be a good night…_

Jill did a little dance before checking the caller ID.

_Erica Andelson_

Jill took a breath. "Hey Erica." she greeted, trying to sound nonchalant, reaching in to put her folded jeans in the correct drawer.

"_You bitch! You forgot to call me!" _

"I know, I know. Sorry." Jill tried to explain.

"_I forgive you. So how is it there? It's totally boring right?" _

"No, it's actually really nice here." Jill told her best friend truthfully as she looked out of her new window and its gorgeous view of all the boats in the marina.

"_Yeah, OK."_

Jill could easily sense her skepticism, and she rolled her eyes. "It is."

_Erica laughed. "What's it called, Tree Mountain? I didn't even know that place existed. Like, ever." _

"_Tree Hill," _Jill enunciated. "And it's in North Carolina, right by Wilmington and like four hours away from Charlotte."

"…_Where?" _

Jill couldn't help but laugh slightly at the way Erica said it. "When's the last time you looked at a map, hun?"

"_Um, never…maybe school. Who likes to look at maps?" _

"I do." Jill insisted, going back to her opened bag. In fact, she looked at her empty wall space and decided she knew exactly where to put her World Map, with tacks stuck at the places she'd been to (in red) and all the places she wanted to go to (in blue).

"_Yeah, well we're not all as smart as you. Obviously." _

"Shut up." Yes, Erica wasn't the brightest bulb in the tanning bed, but most of the time she was a good friend and she was very loyal to Jill. She had a good heart, and that's what counted.

"_What're you up to besides missing me?" _

"Un-packing."

"_Oh, did you see what I packed you? I put it in your big navy suitcase." _

"No." Jill answered, and slowly made her way over to the half empty suitcase lying on her bed. There were clothes, clothes, and more clothes. "What're you talking about? I packed all this stuff."

_Erica sighed. "Oh my God, Jill, seriously? Look harder." _

Jill peered into the first pocket, rummaging through everything inside it. She stumbled upon a pair of socks she didn't recognize…white with little yellow smiley faces. These socks weren't hers, they were Erica's- Jill had seen her wear them countless times. Holding the socks in her hand, Jill noticed it was protruded, and she felt something hard. Her brows furrowed, she undid the socks to find that Erica somehow managed to fit a folded up, plump envelope inside. Unfolding the white envelope, Jill's eyes widened when she saw the plastic baggie and what was inside of it.

"Erica!" Jill gasped. "I can't believe you put this in my _luggage _for the airplane! What is wrong with you, they could've randomly inspected it!"

"_Relax, Jill. It wasn't your carry on."_

"They still could've found it!" Jill yelled, picking up the baggie and staring at its contents. It made her feel weird even touching it. That didn't happen when she was in New York, that's for sure.

_"But they didn't. Even you didn't. Because I'm nice like that, and when you find out how stuck and bored you are without your best friend you're gonna thank me later." _

Jill pursed her lips as held up the baggie. "I don't know if I'm too into this anymore, Er," Jill told her honestly.

_Erica snickered. "You? I highly doubt that. When you do give in, think of me pretty please." _

Jill hesitated. She did realize that back in New York she had awful judgment, but at that point in time things were so bad for her… that what she was holding was her only escape from the pathetic and miserable excuse that was her life. She resorted to it so often that that was the only version of her that Erica came to know. It was unfortunate and sad because Erica had known her since the second grade.

"Erica…"

"_Do me a favor though, find people to do it with. Going solo is lame. Ugh, I wish I was there!" _

"Don't you have some at home?" Jill asked her, well aware of her hidden stash.

_"No! What I gave you is the last of mine. I decided you should have it." _

"Thank you?"

"_You're welcome. Ugh, I'm so bored. I was invited to this party at Devon's house but it's so gonna suck without you. Pleeaseeeeee come back to New York!" _

Jill sighed. "Erica, you know I can't."

_"I know, I know. Your dad seriously sucks." _

Jill tensed. Erica didn't know the half of it. "Yeah."

_"I mean, how much alcohol can one person drink?" _Jill was dead silent, and Erica realized what she'd said all too quickly. _ "I didn't mean it like that. God I'm so stupid. Baby I'm sorry…" _

"It's fine." Jill assured her. Most of the time she thought the same thing anyway.

"_Okay…" Erica said softly. "I love you." _

Suddenly Jill felt the urge to get out of this all too personal conversation. "Love you too, but I gotta go. I'll talk to you later." Before letting Erica answer her, Jill hung up her cell phone and threw it on the bed. She wasn't going to let this affect her anymore. She got away. She's away. Was she? The possibility of her not being out of the woods after such a long journey to get to where she was frightened Jill, to the point where that fear clouded her sense of good judgment she'd been training herself to develop. And just like fear had propelled so many of her decisions in her past, it was about to propel yet another. Walking over to the plastic baggie, Jill grasped it in her hand and unzipped it. The smell of it immediately filled her nostrils. She forgot about the smell. Seeing that Erica had been thoughtful enough to pack her rolling paper, she laid it on her dresser. She couldn't help but stare at it. It was something that probably seemed ordinary and even cool for someone her age. At least that's what it was like before she had to move. But now the only thing it represented for her was a life she didn't want to be sucked into again.

It was then that she heard a knock on the door.

"Shit!" Jill cursed under her breath, and haphazardly gathered it into her hands, and in her haste everything had spilled onto the floor. Shaking her head, Jill gathered it up as best she could and stuffed it into the envelope along with the rolling paper, buried it at the bottom of the drawer, and slammed it shut before she heard someone turning the handle. Running to the door, she quickly opened it and stood in the doorway to make sure whoever was there didn't smell anything.

"Whoa." Peyton said. "You're quick."

Jill chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah. Years of soccer practice."

"I bet." Peyton answered, discreetly looking over Jill. "Are you hungry?"

"Yeah, kind of. I only ate peanuts on the plane."

"We've actually been invited to dinner. I didn't know if you were too tired to go anywhere?"

Jill shook her head. "No, that sounds awesome." Anything to leave the room, the room full of bad decisions and bad choices and bad stuff she had sworn repeatedly to herself that she had to get away from.

Peyton looked at her to be sure. "Yeah? You're up to it?"

"Sure, I'm excited to see the neighbors or whatever. Where are we going?"

"Um, it's actually at Nathan's house. You remember him right?"

Jill smiled. "Uh, the superstar basketball player that used to be your boyfriend? Yeah, I remember him." Jill joked, and it felt good to laugh.

"That's the one." Peyton said. "We'll leave soon. It shouldn't take me too long to get ready."

"Okay."

Peyton nodded. Something was off, but she didn't want to press anything and make Jill uncomfortable her first night. "Okay."

"Hey Peyton?" Jill called timidly.

Peyton turned to her. "Yeah?"

"Thanks for letting me stay."

Peyton just looked at her, it was so sweet and sincere she nearly cried. She hoped that in her eyes Jill could see that there was nothing more she would've wanted. "Thanks for staying." Peyton smiled, squeezing her hand and walking back to her room.

Jill closed the door and leaned against it in relief, her gaze landing on the dresser in a scowl. "Stupid Erica."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Deciding she really didn't want to get in any more crap when it was only her first night, Jill vacuumed the mess away. She sprayed the room with air freshener. Once it was all clean, set out to unpack the rest of her things. When the only venture she had left was her backpack, Jill unzipped the large zipper and started emptying it out. Her books, her favorite CD's and DVD"s… her laptop. That was probably the easiest part. Unloading things she needed but really had no attachment to. Until her fingers came upon the last thing in the bag: a photo album. Her fingers grazed across the blue felt cover and she felt her breath hitch in her throat. Jill suddenly got angry, not knowing why she would bother packing this book of memories she wanted so badly to forget. Except for one. One single photo slipped out from between the covers and onto the floor. Jill bent down to the photo and flipped it over.

Instantly Jill's eyes started to tear looking at the memory. The one last memory of her family she could remember…. where they were happy. It was a strange word for her to even _think about. _After all this time Jill's been convinced that happiness wasn't even a real emotion. People can call her crazy. But her life at home was enough evidence to prove it. Suddenly, Jill's sadness turned into anger; because of what it'd all become. Anger because it wasn't fair. Anger because it was really the only thing she even cared about anymore…but it was gone. It was gone because two adults in that photo had broken her heart…and left her on her own too many times to count. Even if one of the adults was still here, he wasn't really _there._

Jill rolled her eyes, and angrily she folded back the photo so that the only figure left…was the boy that never left. Tracing over his smile, she felt her heart pang at the realization that she couldn't remember the last time he was that happy. She finds herself thinking that perhaps this _new _photograph can be the memory she needs, instead of a memory she doesn't want.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Brooke zipped down the hall, trying to find her other heel. She could've sworn she left it by her room. "Where the hell did I leave it?" She asked herself, and then told herself in her head to stop talking to herself like a crazy person with one heel. That advice was ignored. "Upstairs!" she yelled triumphantly. Sure enough, the one heel lay stranded against the wall by the table that held a pot of flowers.

"B Davis! Did you find it yet?"Came Peyton's worried call from downstairs. She didn't want to be late, and she was getting anxious about everyone meeting Jill. Well, she wasn't anxious about Jill, because she knew she'd rock it. She was just anxious about how everyone else would act around her. No one really knew why she was living with Peyton so suddenly…hell, Peyton didn't even really know herself. That phone call with her father was mostly her emotions getting the best of her. Peyton cried into the receiver thinking something went horribly wrong, without her father really telling her what was actually wrong. Peyton told herself it didn't matter now anyway. She demanded to her father that she could take Jill in and care for her, here in Tree Hill, unlike she was taken care of at home in New York, like it so seemed.

"I got it!" Brooke called back. Checking her little watch, she cursed when she saw how late it was getting. She walked quickly towards Jill's closed door and knocked softly, opening it when no one answered. She found her best friend's cousin in her awesome new room that she helped Peyton set up… which included lengthy trips to the mall to get all kinds of cool furniture, like the shag rug and the red lava lamp. Brooke noticed that Jill had already put a photo on her little tack board above her new desk. Peering discreetly to get a closer look, it was of a boy with a darker hair color than Jill, and he had brown eyes and glasses. She didn't get any more chance to speculate who it could be, for she was distracted by Jill's seemingly one ended conversation on her cell phone.

"Hey guys, it's me Jill…you're probably all out having a great time right now which is awesome. I'm in Tree Hill, and I'm alive, so don't worry."

Brooke laughed. She was just like Peyton. Jill gave Brooke an apologetic signal for her to wait a moment, and Brooke assured her silently that it was all right.

"I just wanted to see how DC was d/oing, so I guess when you get this you can give me a call or I can call back later. In case you lost it, my new cell number is (910)-778-4532. I had to buy a new phone…my Uncle Larry's idea. But anyway, I should shut up. DC, call me. All right, bye…everybody!" she finished in an awkward flourish, taking a breath and putting her cell phone back in her clutch. She looked at Brooke with a smile. "Hey, sorry about that. I'm all ready."

"It's fine. You look cute." Brooke commented, loving Jill's dark wash jeans and converse shoes and simple t-shirt with a little cashmere hoodie. Jill always had a knack for making something usual and plain look totally awesome.

"Thanks. I figure to go comfortable for this really awkward evening." Jill told Brooke as they walked side by side out of the bedroom door.

Brooke hit her arm lightly. "Shut up. This'll be fun!"

"Here's hoping."

They fell into a momentary silence before Brooke decided to speak. "Hey Jill?" Brooke asked, unsure. Jill turned to her, before they walked downstairs together. "Who's…?"

"Who's who?"

Brooke hesitated. She wanted to know who the heck DC was…was he or wasn't he the boy in the photo? Was DC even a boy? She was curious, and she really cared about Jill. But it was her first night and she didn't want to pry. Peyton would kill her. So she decided to let it go. "Never mind." Brooke waved it off. "Don't worry about the awkward silences. I'm good with those."

Jill smiled. "Yeah, all you have to do is say something sexual."

They both laughed, and soon they were at the foot of the stairs. They commented on Peyton's choice of dress, and all three ladies walked back to Brooke's car. Peyton was grateful that Brooke and Jill were getting along so well and hoped Jill felt at home. Brooke was trying to make her feel at home, and Jill trying her absolute best to remain as optimistic as possible.

-x-x-x-x-x

_Next chapter... how will Jill handle a rendezvous at the Naley house? Who do you think DC is? Is Jill going to touch the plastic baggie again? What do you think is inside it? I think it's pretty obvious but, hey, guess away! I do love hearing what you think. Reviews are my inspiration. I won't know if you even like this story if you don't let me know! Don't be shy;) _


	3. Dinner and a Phone Call

_Thanks for the great response so far! Keep it coming! I hope you do realize that readers shape the direction of the story? If you guys want things a certain way, I'll make it happen. But you need to let me know! :) Reviews truly brighten my day. _

_**Othello**...your review made me LAUGH! I promise I am clean as a whistle. Staying aromatic :)  
_

**_redxink528..._**_hope you enjoy. Loved your review. _

_**br0kenbranch...**thanks for the review! Good to see you! I'm so glad you found me. Where've you been?  
_

_**Natarma...**(in case you didn't get my PM) Lucas WILL be in this story. Read on!  
_

_To all my "**T****hings Don't Always**" readers who might be reading this...I've just posted a new chapter! I'm very proud of it but the response has been light. I know you're reading, but I want to hear from you. Otherwise you're kind of like ghosts, and ghosts creep me out. Except Casper. Everyone loves Casper. _

_Chapter Two_

Dinner and a Phone Call

"Shoot!" Jill said aloud, which caused Brooke and Peyton to stop walking down the pathway away from the house to look at her. "I forgot something."

"Here." Brooke replied, tossing her the keys. "Quick like a bunny!"

"I should get Jill her own set of keys." Peyton mused.

"Yeah." Brooke agreed. Pulling her jacket closer to her because of the cool breeze, Brooke noticed it was the perfect opportunity to ask Peyton what she couldn't own up to asking Jill just moments earlier. "So I have a question."

"Okay."

"Who's DC?" Brooke let out quickly, holding her breath. "I don't mean to be nosy or whatever, or I might… I don't know. It's just that now that she's here we're both acting so cautious about what we say and she's so quiet…"

"Brooke." Peyton said calmly. "You really don't remember him?"

Brooke frowned at Peyton's response. "No…" her face fell into something more solemn. "…. Oh."

Peyton nodded. "Yeah."

"Where is he?"

Peyton sighed, hurt blazing in her eyes. "New Hampshire."

Brooke swallowed, and she saw the pain her best friend's eyes when she said that DC was so far away…that he was staying with friends he grew up with…instead of with Peyton. Their moment broke when Brooke's front door closed for a second time, this time with Jill in front of it holding a cute pink bag with tissue paper sticking out of the top. "Sorry."

"What's in the bag?" Peyton asked, putting on a sudden smile.

"You'll see." Jill answered, and once Brooke found her car keys to unlock the doors, Jill climbed in the back behind the passenger's seat. Brooke and Peyton followed suit, Brooke behind the wheel and Peyton beside her. "So who else is gonna be at this dinner thing?" Jill asked curiously, leaning forward in her seat and resting her elbow on the back of Peyton's chair.

"Oh, you know… Nathan, Haley…" Brooke said vaguely, avoiding Peyton's gaze and putting her key in the ignition. "Skills, Mouth, oh and my assistant Millicent is coming. Her and Mouth totally have a thing."

"No one else, Brooke?" Peyton tried to seem nonchalant but she could sense Jill's eyes on both of them.

Brooke laughed awkwardly. "Um…don't think so."

"Am I missing something here?" Jill asked, her green eyes darting between her cousin and her cousin's best friend.

Brooke turned to Jill gratefully. "Nope. Nothing at all." Turning back to face the front, she put her car in reverse and backed out of her charming driveway onto the sidewalk. "Music?"

-x-x-x-x-x-

The clan reached Nathan and Haley's in record time due to almost no traffic, and soon Peyton, Brooke, and Jill were walking up to the front door. "Wow, and I thought Brooke's house was nice." Jill whispered in Peyton's ear, as Jill admired the huge house. It was a lot bigger than what Peyton had described, and the pictures she showed her didn't do it justice at all. Jill loved the architecture, and the big open driveway…the double French doors. The atmosphere was comforting…comforting and humble. Jill had never experienced that combination before, but now she decided that it was kind of nice. "Seriously, this place is huge."

Peyton chuckled. "Yeah." She stopped and took a breath as they waited for Brooke to catch up to them. "You ready?" she asked Jill, putting her arm around her shoulder.

"Yeah." Jill said, leaning into her cousin's embrace. "Are you?"

"What do you mean?"

Jill shrugged. "I don't know. You seem kinda nervous. You're never nervous. That makes me nervous."

Peyton laughed. "I'm fine. I just want to make sure you will be too."

"I'm fine." Jill echoed with a small smile.

"You two are so much alike." Brooke observed as she rang the doorbell with a shake of her head.

A second passed and the door burst open, revealing an all too excited four-year old James Lucas on the other side. "Aunt Brooke!"

"Hey handsome!" Brooke returned, opening her arms wide and grabbing her godson into a big hug. He really did look handsome, with his button down collared shirt and combed back hair. Haley really did go all out sometimes.

"Hi Aunt Peyton!" Jamie greeted next, hugging Peyton's legs.

Peyton laughed. "Hey buddy!" she greeted, putting her hand lovingly through his hair.

Jamie pulled back only to look innocently at the teenage girl he'd never seen before. "Who are you?"

Jill only smiled. That boy reminded her of all the little kids she babysat back home. She bent down to his level. "I'm Jill, Peyton's cousin. Who are you?"

"James!" a voice admonished. "What did I say about answering the front door by yourself?" Soon the sound of clacking heels echoed through the house, belonging to none other than Haley James Scott, the hostess for the evening.

Jamie looked at her with his big brown eyes and she couldn't stay mad for long. "That I have to wait for you or Daddy."

Haley put her hands on her waist playfully. "And did you?"

Jamie bowed his head, ashamed. "No. But look who's here!"

Haley laughed. "I'm so glad; dinner's almost ready!"

"Thank God, I'm so hungry!" Brooke said dramatically, giving her close friend a warm hug and slipping off her shoes.

After giving Peyton a hug, Haley faced Jill, and for a second she didn't know what to say. She mentally cursed at herself. She knew of Jill's sudden arrival but like everyone else she didn't know the reason. She didn't want things to be weird but on the other hand she hadn't seen Jill since that visit she paid to North Carolina during Haley's senior year at Tree Hill High. The young mother could feel the air getting tense and awkward…she didn't want that. The only reason she planned this dinner with Brooke was to make Jill feel more at home here in a new town-with new people. It was a new life for her. Haley wanted Jill to want that life.

"Hey Haley." Jill greeted simply.

Haley relaxed with a warm grin. "I'm so glad you remember me!"

Jill laughed. "Who could forget you?"

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Is this a present, Jill?" Jamie asked while peeking his head into the pink bag Jill held in her hands.

"Um actually…it is. Haley this is for you."

"For me?" Haley looked to Peyton, who only shrugged.

"I hope you like it."

Haley reached into the bag to pull out a bottle of _La Rioja_. "Oh my gosh, this is…thank you!"

"You know, you're probably the only 16-year-old I've ever met that would think to give wine." Mouth commented from his seat on the couch in the living room.

"Yeah, that's what I was thinking." Brooke agreed.

Jill shrugged. "It's really no big deal. Plenty of it at home, so…" she smiled, and everyone else laughed.

"Gotta share the wealth?" Skills joked.

"Exactly."

Skills laughed. "I like this girl."

It was then that a big, tall figure walked into the room. "Wait a minute…is that Jillie Bean over there?" Nathan's loud voice boomed from the kitchen as he stepped into the living room.

Jill buried her face in her hands. Nathan Scott. "Oh God…" she muttered. "I can't believe you're still gonna call me that."

Nathan smirked, playfully looking at Jill's tall thin frame. "I can call you String Bean instead."

Jill scowled. "Hey! At least I'm a String Bean that can run up and down a full field for 90 minutes."

Nathan frowned, and Skills started laughing. "She got you!"

"I resent that." Nathan replied with a straight face, and then broke into a grin, bringing Jill into an old fashioned bear hug: he gave the best ones. "It's great to see you."

"You too Nathan!" Jill said with a smile, and she meant it. Not a day had gone by lately where she would sit on the chair of a New York City subway train, listening to music she loved that naturally led her to memories of her and Nathan hanging out together. Nate would teach her Jill how to guarantee a free throw, and Jill showed Nathan how to guarantee a penalty kick. Jill could make a free throw. Nathan…still couldn't make a penalty kick.

"Oh, and it's _Spanish wine_!" Haley flourished, still taken by the gift in itself.

Nathan looked to the wine in his wife's hands, to Jill, then back again. "You brought her wine_?" _

"Yes, she did." Haley confirmed sternly. "And it was a hell of a nice gesture, Nathan Scott."

Nathan raised his arms in defense. "No, that's awesome." He turned to Jill and shook his head. "Are you sure you're 16?"

Jill shrugged. "You wanna see my ID? If you do I'll have to use my fake one so I can get those six packs I know you like."

Peyton and Haley looked baffled, Skills had a huge grin on his face and Nathan just laughed….he wasn't exactly shy about his alcohol consumption when he was dating Peyton. To say he ruined Jill's innocence was an understatement. What was even worse was that Nathan was such a jerk that he didn't even care.

"I'm _kidding." _Jill drawled out playfully- so much for making things less awkward. "I couldn't if I wanted to, you pretty much have to drive everywhere here anyway."

"You having subway withdrawals?" Peyton wondered.

"Getting places fast? Yes. The crazy people? Not so much." The whole room started laughing, and Jill was left thinking maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

While the house was waiting for dinner to be ready, Nathan challenged Jill to a game of Guitar Hero (they used to play together back in the day) and Skills called second round. Jill scored high the first round, and Nathan told her it was just a fluke. "We'll see." she replied. When she won the second round expert level, Nathan surrendered and Skills stepped up. When Jill beat _him_ twice, Skills announced that his controller was broken. Needless to say, Jamie was completely charmed by Jill's knowledge of video gaming, and dragged her (she insisted she was ready and willing) to his room to show her all his toys. Jill was more than amused, and enjoyed listening to Jamie ramble about his simple pleasures, like staying up late when there was company and how to feed his bunny Chester and what it was like to be a four year old. A while later, Nathan popped his head into Jamie's room to see both him and Jill on the floor coloring.

"What do you think?" Jamie held his artwork of a red buggie car to show Jill.

Nathan smiled. Jill looked natural there, like she'd been a part of the clan forever.

"I'd put it in a museum!" Jill told Jamie with a smile.

Jamie's eyes lit up and he grinned. "Really?"

"Really."

"Guys, dinner's ready." Nathan announced, hating to break the moment.

"I'll race you!" Jamie challenged, and immediately started off.

"Hey wait a minute!" Jill called, and Jamie instantly stopped. "You gotta wait until I'm ready. Or else it's cheating."

Jamie crossed his arms and waited while Jill got up easily from off the floor and dusted her jeans off. She got in a stance, and Jamie mimicked her. "Not too fast." She warned him, and Jamie eagerly nodded. "Ready? Three…two…. one!"

Nathan got out of the way and heard his son's carefree laughter through the halls of his home, as Jill followed closely behind him. She let him win.

"Hey Road Runner." Peyton joked as Jamie nearly jumped into a chair. She counted to make sure there were enough plates on the table. "Oh, Hales you put out two extra plate settings."

Jill counted as well, and Peyton was right. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Brooke stay silent and leave the room.

Haley walked into the kitchen. "Actually…."

The next thing Jill heard was the doorbell. "I'll get it." Jill unknowingly opened a door to a man of her recent past.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Jill?" Jill couldn't read the look on his face. It went from surprise to confusion to surprise to confusion again. It'd been forever since she'd seen the girl. She looked so grown up: he only recognized her from her eyes.

"Hey Lucas." Jill greeted with a smile. It had been a long time, but Luke still looked boyishly handsome, and still had the same messy blonde hair and blue eyes that could kill.

"Whoa! It's been forever! Wow, you're…the last time I saw you, you were up to here on me." Lucas put his hand to above his belly button.

"Yeah, it's been a while." Jill was about to move out of the way so Lucas could come in when she heard another woman's voice.

"Luke, you forgot to lock the car." Before he could speak the woman entwined her fingers in his. Lucas looked at Jill, and suddenly he felt terrible when he saw the look on her face go from happy and surprised to confused and shocked. He knew right then and there that Jill didn't know. Jill didn't know about him and Peyton and the break up, and she didn't know about…

"Um…Jill this is Lindsey…"

"Lucas' girlfriend." Lindsey cut in unnecessarily, and Lucas shot her a look that told her just that. Lucas felt his breath hitch in his throat as he waited for Jill's reaction. To anyone else it might've seemed ridiculous that he was worried about what a teenager might think of his serious relationship with another woman. But he knew for a fact that Jill and Peyton were extremely close, and there was a huge possibility that this would not go well for him.

Jill's lips pursed into a thin line, and she expertly hid it. "It's nice to meet you." Neither Lucas nor Lindsey (and perhaps not even Jill herself) could label her tone. "I'm Jill. Peyton's cousin."

Lindsey looked slightly taken aback. "Oh…hello."

"Hi." Jill returned, sending Lindsey a smile. Only she knew it wasn't as genuine as it seemed.

For a second all three of them stood there awkwardly.

"Sorry. I'm in your way." Jill announced graciously, stepping aside so Lindsey could enter first. Jill sent Lucas a look that he couldn't decipher, but it sent chills down his back…and _not _in a good way.

Lucas sent her a smile, mostly because he didn't know what else to do-his mind was spinning into like a million different directions. _How old is she now? Is she still in New York? How long was she staying? Was she staying at Brooke's with Peyton?_ But most of all…

_Why was she visiting on a Sunday evening? _

"I didn't know you were visiting," Lucas told Jill quietly before he really entered the house.

Jill just looked at him. "I'm not."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Oh God." Peyton muttered to Brooke worriedly in the kitchen, as she just watched the scene between Jill and Lucas unfold. From what she could tell, Jill was pretty upset. "Brooke, why didn't you tell me Lucas was coming? Jill still has no idea about us!"

"Well, she does now…" Brooke couldn't meet Peyton's death glare. "Look, I'm sorry OK? I didn't know he was going to bring _her." _

"Oh, really? Lindsey is his girlfriend and he's not going to bring her? God, I knew this was a shitty idea."

"Peyton, it's gonna be fine."

"Jill just got here and I've already screwed up." Peyton told Brooke quietly, and her gaze softened. "What am I doing here, Brooke?"

In that one question; there were several. _Why did I agree to this? Why am I raising a teenager? Why am I in Tree Hill?_

Brooke straightened up. She knew that look; and she was _not _going to let anything change anything. She put her hand on Peyton's arm. "You're here to have dinner with people who love you." she told her best friend firmly. "And you're here for your cousin who you love dearly and who loves you right back!" There was a moment of heavy silence as Brooke allowed her words to sink in, and suddenly Peyton was on the verge of tears.

"Guys, what's going on?" Haley asked her two closest friends, when she heard their whispering.

"I didn't know Lucas was going to be here." Peyton told Haley seriously, hoping her teary eyes would dissipate. This was exactly the type of situation Peyton wanted to avoid. Her and Lucas were barely on the fine line between ex's that are friends or ex's that are enemies and she couldn't afford to mess it up forever. Peyton was holding in feelings that could do that very thing. Of course she was still in love with him. She just hadn't told anyone that yet and didn't want to tell anyone. Lucas coming here and parading around his girlfriend certainly was not helping her.

Haley sighed. "Okay, look Peyton. I understand things between you and Lucas are tense and difficult but one of these days…"

"I don't care about me and Lucas right now." Peyton cut Haley off rather harshly. "I care about Jill. This isn't how I wanted her to find out." Peyton relented, shaking her head. If only they'd stayed home and just had some damn pizza.

"Maybe you could've let her know earlier."

Peyton looked at Haley like she'd been slapped. "She just got here."

Haley could sense the venom and defense in Peyton's voice and she immediately knew she made a bad decision by being so judgmental. Jill was in Peyton's care now, not to mention she was her family, and thus Peyton knew what was best for her. "You're right, I'm sorry…whatever you do, don't bail on us. Please stay."

Peyton sighed, and she saw the look in Haley's eyes and the want for them to get their friendship back to what it used to be. "Fine. Just…" Peyton began, and then hesitated. Haley gazed at her, urging her to continue. "Go easy on Jill." With that, Peyton sent a warning glance to Brooke, Haley, and a recently entered the room Nathan.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Lucas offered to take Lindsey's coat and place it in the hallway closet. Saying nothing, she carelessly shrugged the coat off of her shoulders and placed it rather roughly into his hands.

"OK, Linds, what's going on with you?"

Lindsey looked at him. "Nothing." Lucas gave her a look. "It's just…it's all weird and unexpected with Peyton here."

Lucas sighed. "She's Haley and Nathan's friend too, Lindsey."

There was a quick glint of hurt in Lindsey's eyes. Her boyfriend would jump so quick to defend his ex, and the worst part is he wouldn't even notice he was doing it. "Did you even know about her cousin Jill?" Lindsey asked, suddenly curious.

"Oh, yeah." Lucas answered nonchalantly. "I've known Jill since she was a little girl."

Lindsey plastered on a small fake smile, but she felt something invisible drop to the pit of her stomach. _What else did he know about her? Were they ever close? Did they keep in touch? Did they get along? _A part of her wanted to ask Lucas these questions, and perhaps as his girlfriend perhaps there wouldn't be a problem with her doing so. But she could admit that now wasn't the place or time to start an interrogation, however casual she decided to approach the situation.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jill chose the seat closest to Peyton as possible, which happened to be the two seats across from Lucas and Lindsey. Of course, she felt slighted. Jill knew that Lucas was the love of her cousin's life, and the fact that they broke up was an ambush to her. But then again she knew she didn't have the jurisdiction to feel angry, or be angry with Lucas. She had no idea what had happened between the two of them, and finding out would have to wait until later. Until then, she did the best she could answering Haley's light questions about how her flight was, how she was enjoying Tree Hill's fresh air and other pointless small talk. It got interesting when the teen mentioned how she was feeling about having to continue her sophomore year at Tree Hill High. The table proceeded to laugh about their memories together; memories mostly propelled by Brooke. Jill laughed at all the right times. She smiled and nodded, but most of all, she kept stealing side glances at Peyton.

Peyton was mostly quiet, and she tried her hard to avoid Lucas' glance. It was that kind of staring thing he did with Peyton that let everyone else know she was the only woman worth looking at in the entire room; quite possibly, the entire world. Peyton felt her cheeks burn, and she felt even more awful when she saw Lindsey was in conversation with Haley and didn't notice a thing. Peyton did feel the urge to slap Lucas for looking at her like that. She wasn't his for looking at anymore.

"Haley, this is really good wine, where did you get it?" Lindsey asked curiously, finishing her sip.

It was then that Peyton switched to alert. She stole a side-glance to Nathan and then Haley discreetly, begging them to help her make sure that Jill wasn't put under too much scrutiny.

Haley cleared her throat. "Actually, Jill brought it. It's from Spain."

From across the table, Nathan just shook his head down at his dinner plate. He could see from a mile away that Jill had no desire in joining any kind of conversation. Instead she seemed more than content eating her filet mignon and green beans.

Lindsey raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Oh. Wow."

Jill just nodded, and she really was trying not to laugh at how awkward this was getting. She found herself praying that Brooke would get it and say something sexual.

Instead, Lindsey's phone went off. She unzipped her clutch and looked at the caller ID. It was work. "Sorry guys, I have to take this. Excuse me." she pushed back on her chair to stand, and as she stepped out of the room, everyone else could hear her begin to speak with the person on the other line. "This is Lindsey."

The table of old friends was clouded with a momentary air of silence as they tried to reel back into normal conversation. Nathan decided to start, saving Jill with some comfort, some security.

"I've always wanted to go to Spain. What's it like? Beautiful, I'm sure." Nathan winced. "Wow, I totally just answered my own question." The atmosphere was at ease when the table laughed.

"Yeah, it was. It is. I mean I haven't gone in a while. I used to go a lot before with my parents...but…things changed." Jill finished lamely, remembering to sit up straight and look her very best.

Nathan purposefully ignored that. "Do you miss it?"

"I really do. The cities there are gorgeous. Last time I went, I stayed with a friend of mine in Mallorca, which is the largest island of Spain. Actually that whole trip I didn't have an itinerary, once I left Barcelona I was free to choose where I wanted to go next."

Nathan raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, really? That sounds awesome."

"Yeah, it was pretty cool." Jill reminisced for a second of her travels. "All I had to do was look up train times and book a ticket."

"You went alone?"

Jill nodded. "That was nice, because most of the time I was dragged along by my dad."

Peyton heard her cousin let out a slight breath. She knew how hard it was for Jill to talk about her father, and she didn't want her to. When she told Nathan and Haley to go easy on Jill, not mentioning her father was part of what she meant- so far they'd obeyed her wishes. Now, she had no idea what to do if Jill herself mentioned him instead; except hope that no one would push it farther.

"What does your dad do?"

Stupid Lucas.

Jill hesitated, but she took a breath and decided the mature thing to do was just answer him so they could move on. "He's a retired athlete."

Peyton breathed out, shaking her head. She squeezed Jill's hand harder. Even if she didn't exactly know the details, she remembered from when she'd visit Jill in New York that her father had been…absent, to say the least. From what it seemed, their relationship was tense and strained at best.

"Oh, really? Wow. I didn't know that." Lucas admitted.

"Yeah."

"In what sport?"

Peyton couldn't take it anymore. Who did he think he was? Showing up late to the dinner (okay, that wasn't really her problem, but still) and then asking Jill all kinds of questions he really had no business asking. Lucas would've known that if he maybe would've got over himself and stayed in that hotel room in LA with her. "Alright." Peyton announced, and all eyes were on her. "Can we move on, please?"

Lucas looked at her, slightly taken aback by her voice. There was something in his eyes that had her off guard. It was like he was looking into her soul… God if he could just _not _look at her like that. The resolve she tried so hard to build would just break down. Peyton hated it, even if his gaze still gave her butterflies.

"It was just a question." Lucas said, his voice calm.

"It was more like three."

"I was being polite."

"…_I thought the conference call wasn't scheduled until tomorrow?"_ Lindsey's business voice radiated through where she was standing into the dining room, putting a break in the tension. Nathan, Jill and Brooke were beyond grateful. The three of them stayed quiet to listen to Lindsey's end of the conversation because they had nothing better to do, and it was a hell of a lot better than being involved in Lucas and Peyton's drama. "_And you can't do it without me? That's why I hired you." _Nathan tried to hide his laugh. Lindsey was always so classy and refined, rarely ever snappy…. Nathan decided he was a fan of her feisty side. _"…Well, thank you for that. I'll need to call you back in 20 minutes. Bye." _The rest heard Lindsey putting her cell phone back into her bag and her footsteps returning into the dining room. Her hair was flowing behind her, and she had a polite smile on her face, thankfully oblivious and unknowing of what just went down.

"Sorry guys, but I have to run."

"Why?" Lucas asked immediately.

"You just got here!" Haley whined.

"I know, I know." Lindsey recognized. "Work emergency." Lindsey walked quickly over to Lucas. "See you later?"

Peyton _hated_ that she heard it.

"Yes." Lucas replied, and wasn't expecting Lindsey to lean in and kiss him somewhat haughtily on the lips. He thought it'd be something quick, like a 'goodbye peck' and that's why he kissed her back, but then she made it…long; too long for a room full of people who are forced to watch. Except Jamie, who immediately covered his eyes.

Jill raised her eyebrows at their sudden demonstration of PDA, and awkwardly looked at Peyton. Jill felt her heart pang when she noticed Peyton's eyes were completely fixated on her fork and knife in front of her. She felt awful for Peyton all over again, and this time it was her who grabbed Peyton's hand comfortingly underneath the table.

Nathan started whistling, and at the other end of the table Brooke felt a surge of fire go through her for her best friend. She forcefully cleared her throat. It was then that Lindsey and Lucas finally pulled apart, and from the corner of his eyes he saw Brooke's death glare.

"Thanks for much for dinner, it was delicious." Lindsey made eye contact with Jill and she reminded herself to be polite. "Nice to meet you, Jill. I'm sure I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, probably." _I doubt it. _Jill added in a polite smile for good measure, and Lindsey nodded, somewhat in relief. She turned to say goodbye to Peyton, but the blonde had vacated her seat. Lindsey said nothing, and made her way to the front door.

Once the door was safely closed behind Lindsey, Jill looked around, and she met Haley's gaze. The older woman mouthed to her that Peyton went to the kitchen. Jill wasn't sure what she should do. Should she go after her cousin or give her some moments alone?

Lucas got up first. "Haley, I'll help with the dishes." Before his best friend could refuse, Lucas gathered up what he could carry of finished plates into his hands and followed Peyton's path.

Brooke rolled her eyes.

Jill just sat there.

Haley tapped her foot.

Nathan cleared his throat. "Anyone want pie?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"That was more awkward than even I would've thought." Brooke announced, deserting her purse somewhere.

"I liked the pie." Jill offered, causing Brooke to laugh. Peyton had been strangely quiet, and Jill figured it was because of what happened in the kitchen before they left.

After Brooke announcing she was going to take a quick shower to cool off, Peyton sat on the couch in the living room, legs curled underneath her, enjoying a warm fire. No sooner did Jill join her.

"I'm sorry for tonight, kiddo." Peyton broke the silence.

"Don't worry about it." Jill replied, suddenly getting really sleepy as she rested her head on Peyton's shoulder. "It was kind of cool for the drama to not be about me." she joked, and Peyton laughed softly. "Well, directly about me. So…" Jill drawled out after moments of nice quiet. "Can I ask what happened between you and Lucas in LA? Was it bad?"

Peyton sighed. This conversation was bound to happen anyway. She sat up and Jill faced her. By fireplace light, Peyton told Jill everything that happened that night in LA: how her and Lucas were only 19 at the time and he stayed in Tree Hill trying to get his novel published, and she was still working through her internship; and how one night Lucas surprised her with a visit, and she'd never been more happy to see him. They'd gone out to dinner at a nice restaurant and after that they were planning to go back to her place (Jill covered her ears, insisting she didn't want any of the details, and boy did Peyton assure her she wouldn't give her any). Lucas gave her yet another surprise when he told Peyton he rented a hotel room for them to stay at, and how Peyton had to be pulled into work, and Lucas said he'd wait for her (oh, the irony). "So then I got back to him much later than I wanted to and he was asleep." Peyton recalled. "I went to wake him up, and I saw something on the floor."

"What was it?" Jill asked, munching on an Oreo to cure her late night cravings.

Peyton took a deep breath. Yes, telling this story was still hard for her. She still dreamt about it some days, as pathetic as that might've seemed. But in her dream, it wasn't pathetic. Because things played out the way they were supposed to, and maybe in those couple of hours all would be okay. Peyton would be happy and Lucas would be by her side. Seeing the look on Jill's face, Peyton knew tell Jill what happened next might not be as hard as when she told it the first time. Even if Jill loved Lucas and Peyton together, she was old enough to understand. At least, Peyton hoped she would. "A ring."

Jill gasped, her eyes widening, her jaw almost touching the floor as she nearly choked on the rest of her Oreo. "Holy crap. Like a…like a real ring?"

Peyton nodded, almost laughing. "What other kind is there?"

Jill gasped again, and she visibly got excited. "Oh my…" It was then she subconsciously glanced down at Peyton's left hand, and she saw no ring there. Her face fell, and Peyton felt the tug at her heart that she was preparing herself for. "...Oh."

"I didn't even let him ask."

"Why?" Jill cried, even though she knew the answer already.

Peyton took a deep breath. "Because I knew if he did I would give in and say yes." she admitted. One look into those blue eyes of his, and she was gone. Peyton knew if he gave her that sweet little smile he was going to give her when he was on one knee, she'd say the hell with it and kiss him senseless until she couldn't breathe. "I wasn't ready."

"Was he?"

"No." It was obvious in Luke's blatant insecurities, and while she couldn't understand them, Peyton knew they were the reason of his sudden departure. "I tried to tell him that neither of us were ready to get married, and that I would be ready to be his wife _someday_. But he thought someday meant no, and then he just…left."

"But how could he leave you!"

"Sometimes, people do things others don't understand."

Jill tried not to laugh. "Thanks, Dr. Phil. Boys are stupid."

"Totally." Brooke agreed, coming from downstairs and hearing the tail end of the conversation. Once she joined her roommates on the couch and stole one of Jill's Oreos, she was offered a glass of milk, and that sentiment was the toast for the night.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After changing into her pajamas, Jill crawled into her new bed. Craning her neck, she decided to have a view of what her new room looked like in the dark. It was a habit she grew into when she was living in New York City, when the noise would be too loud for her to sleep. Jill resorted to lying on her back, looking at her room to clear her head. It helped her sleep better when her eyes eventually drooped closed. It gave her a feeling of comfort and security that had long since disappeared. Jill felt safe, like as long as she was encased in those four walls no one or nothing could ever get to her. If only that luxury had come sooner.

Looking towards the picture she'd put up earlier…. thanks to the light of the moon over the marina…Jill gasped: she forgot to check if whether or not DC had called her. Luckily, she always kept her cell phone on her night table. Easily reaching over and grabbing it, Jill squinted when it was flipped open and the small light shined on her eyes.

No new messages. No missed calls.

Thinking either no one got the message she left or DC forgot to call her, Jill decided to give it a chance and call again. Dialing a number she knew by heart, Jill waited patiently as she listened to the slow steady rings. This time a woman's voice had answered.

"_Hello?" _

Jill had not gotten the chance to talk to her in a while, but she sounded exactly the same…warm and loving. She felt an ache in her heart when she found herself missing the woman who had become her second mother. "Hi, Suzie?"

"_Who's calling?" _

"It's Jill."

_ "Oh, Jill! Hi honey, how are you?" _

"I'm fine." Jill answered, hoping Suzie wouldn't turn skeptical.

"_How are things there?" _

"Pretty good, we went to a family friend's house for dinner."

"_How nice! We just got the message you left. I was going to have David call you but I wasn't sure if you were asleep." _

Jill looked at her alarm clock. It was late. She cursed herself at being so inconsiderate. But her reason to call was reason enough. "No, I'm still awake."

_"So is David. Poor kids are wiped though. We spent the whole day on a little adventure." _

"That's awesome." Jill replied. "I wish I was there with you guys." If only Peyton could come too. Well. You can't have everything right?

_"Awe. We all really miss you." _

Jill had to hold her breath: she was hoping Suzie wouldn't go there. Jill knew the woman was hurt, even though she didn't let on, when Jill informed her she was going to be moving to North Carolina. Suzie immediately offered her a place to stay with them, at their summer home in New Hampshire. But Jill tearfully said she couldn't. New Hampshire wasn't far enough. "I miss you guys too." Jill prayed her voice wouldn't break, that Suzie wouldn't hear it.

"_Yeah." _

Jill found herself tearing at the sound of Suzie's soft voice. She wished, just for a second, that she could be there with her to get one of her hugs, or her amazing soup or homemade cherry pie. In terms of neighbors, she'd hit the jackpot with this one. Jill smiled at all those memories.

"_Let me see if he's around." A pause followed. "DC someone's on the phone for you!" _

Jill smiled at the sound of the boy's nickname. A few quick steps, and she heard his small, 11-year-old voice at the end of the line, sounding out of breath.

"_Hello?"_

There was an ache in Jill's heart as she heard his voice, and she struggled to keep her tears at bay. "Hey D!" she greeted affectionately.

"_Jill?" _

"Yeah, it's me, dummy. How's it going?"

"_Good. You're in Tree Hill already?" _

Jill laughed at his obliviousness. Same old DC even if he was in a different state. "I've been here the whole day."

"_Oh. I knew that." _

"Sure."

"_How is it?" _

DC's question was innocent. Just like that Jill was suddenly excited to tell him all about her flight and the snoring guy next to her and Peyton and the house by the marina and Brooke stealing all her Oreos (D always did that). "… and oh my God!" Jill finished, almost out of breath. She was happy that D.C. wasn't the kind of kid who complained about girls who talked too much: he was used to it anyways. "You wanna hear about the most awkward dinner of my whole life ever?"

_D.C. laughed. Same old Jill… different state. "Uh…sure." _

Jill smiles and readies herself to tell D.C. about Nathan and Haley and all their questions about Spain, and then Lucas suddenly showing up (DC really started to pay close attention then) and then about _Lindsey_ showing up (at that point it was almost like DC was in the same room). "….And then Lindsey practically made out with Lucas at the dinner table."

"_Nasty." _

"I know!"

_D.C. laughed. "I would've covered my eyes." _

Jill resisted the urge to laugh. DC was funny in his own honest way. "Well, anyway. I bet my day was still better than yours."

"_Jill. All I did today was help Suzie navigate around this supermarket that had all these huge signs, but she couldn't read them because she needs glasses." _

"Hey, D, be nice." Jill warned, although she was smiling. "You love Nora and Max." Suzie and Gerry precocious 10 year-old daughter and younger son were awesome, but a handful all the same.

"_I know. But I love you more." _

Jill felt her eyes water. Damn it.

_"Plus, I'm getting a little bored."_ D whispered in the receiver. "_There's no TV here." _

Jill laughed at DC and his obsession with videogames. Poor kid. "Yeah, but you get unlimited access to that tree house." There was a huge tree house taking up two trees at the land occupied by Suzie and Gerry's New Hampshire house. Gerry worked on that elaborate house (big enough for the clan to sleep in) for months straight. Jill remembered this one time where they were all helping out and six year-old Max was goofing off and nearly hammered a nail into his thumb.

"_I guess." _

"What's wrong?"

"_I miss you. This sucks. You're so far away." _

Jill sighed, she hated that the conversation had gotten so solemn; they were doing so well. "DC you know I'm here, and Peyton's here if you need anything…"

"_I do! I do need you. You're my big sister!" _

Jill could hear tears threatening to come out, and she prayed to God that wouldn't happen…she couldn't do it. Her little brother wasn't the type to cry, but when he did, Jill swore there was never a time where she felt worse. DC found a security and comfort with Jill that he had with no one else on the planet…which of course Jill understood wholeheartedly. It was the two of them through thick and thin-ever since their father filled their pantry with bottles of scotch. Jill understood it: she just wasn't sure if she _deserved it_. "I always will be." Jill told him firmly. "I'm always here for you, no matter where I am. You know that."

"_Yeah." _

"Where are you sleeping tonight?"

_DC huffed bitterly. "In the barn." _In fact, the boy was walking through the chilly night into the barn right now, where Nora and Max had nicely set up all their sleeping bags.

"Stop that. You love the barn. I love the barn." When Jill and DC used to visit Nora and Max for weekends in the summer, all four of them would camp out in the barn Suzie and Gerry had on their land in New Hampshire. They'd all race to claim their bowels of hay, and sometimes, they'd swing into them (Gerry had hooked up a thick secure rope to the wooden plank on the tall ceiling). They'd stay up late and stare up at the millions of stars. Sometimes they'd tell scary stories. That barn held some of Jill's best memories.

"_It's full of spiders." _

"There are no spiders. You're making that up."

"_There so are! I'm gonna find one, take a picture, and prove it to you." _

Jill shook her head. DC would never find one. "Okay, fine."

There was a short silence, until DC spoke again. This time, he was quiet. _"Did you talk to Peyton about me coming to stay with you guys?" _

Jill frowned; she thought she had distracted him. "DC…. I don't know if…"

_"Ugh, come on Jill. You promised me!" _

Jill could hear the sadness in his voice, and she tried quickly to get rid of it. "I know, I know." Jill ran her hand through her hair. How could she ask Peyton of such a big favor to take her _and_ her little brother in? There's no way she'd go for it. "I'll try my best, OK?"

_D.C. sighed. "Okay." _

"You gonna be alright for the night?"

_"I don't know." _

Jill sighed. He was going to have a hard time; she could just tell. So she proposed an idea that she always did, and it always worked. She was sure it would even this time, no matter if it was over the phone and she was however many states away from him (Nine? Who knows. It was too many). "Here…how about we sing Mom's song?"

"_Again? Okay." _

Jill shook her head with a grin. "OK, ready?"

_ "Ready." _

Jill took a breath, and along with DC began to sing a song they knew all too well.

"Hello Mudda…"

"_Hello Fadda…" _

"Here I am at…"

"_…Camp Granada…" _

_ "_Camp is very entertaining, and they say we'll have some fun if it stops raining..."

Brother and Sister continued their routine, the routine they did when nights got too hard, or too noisy, or too sleepless. It was their only connection to each other, to make the distance between them that much smaller.

"_Take me home, I promise I will not make noise, or mess the house with other boys. Oh, please don't make me stay, I've been here one whole day."_ Jill was into it now, and her brows furrowed when she didn't hear a reply on the line. "DC? You still awake?" He fell asleep. Jill sighed. "You sleep tight. I love you, little brother."

Jill slowly hung up her cell phone and leaned back on her pillow. Maybe, knowing exactly that, she could get through another day without him.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

_Jill's got a little brother! Saw it coming? Had no idea? Bring on the complicated. Predictions? Will DC get to stay with Jill and Peyton or will they stay separated? What did you think of the dinner scenes? It may have seemed underwhelming, but you have to remember that most of it is from Jill's prespective, so she would not necessarily notice the tensions between Luke/Lindsey/Peyton unless she was made directly aware of it. _

_The LP interaction in Naley's kitchen will be detailed in later chapters, so keep coming back! _

_Next chapter...it's Jill's first day at Tree Hill High!_

_PS... I always hated when other authors did that "get to X reviews, and then I'll post a new chapter." THAT IS LAME! Come on people, show some love! _


	4. My First Day at Tree Hill High, Part I

_That's what I'm saying!_ **missshay16...**_thank you for the love! I also hated Lucas and Lindsey annoyed me so much, too! I always felt like she was trying way too hard with everyone. __  
_

_**Othello**... Yes the dinner was VERY uncomfortable: I had a blast writing it! I'm glad you like DC, I have a soft spot for him too. His relationship with Jill is a big part of this story. Just have to keep reading to find out if DC gets to live in Tree Hill :)  
_

**Natarma**..._glad you like "mean Lucas" because he's going to stick around for a bit. There's going to be lots of LP "seasoning" thrown in there. __  
_

_**cayt326...**thanks for your review! I'm trying to update as much as I can. Reviews keep me motivated so keep those comin'!  
_

**redxink528**_...glad you liked the dinner scene :) It was meant to be uncomfortable and weird so I'm glad I got that across. _

_**othlover4ever...**welcome! So glad to see a new reader. I'm glad you love the story.  
_

_Chapter Three_

My First Day at Tree Hill High

Part I

Jill awoke the next morning to a loud, obnoxious tune right in her ear.

_I gotta feeling…._

Jill shot up, her eyes wide open and her hair in a considerable dishevel. "What the hell…."

_That tonight's gonna be a good night… _

Not a morning person by any means, Jill ruffled around her new bed sheets for what she thought was someone calling her telephone. But then Jill remembered that she turned off her phone for the night and left it on the table. The song wasn't coming from Jill's phone…but from her radio: her new radio was set on alarm. At 5:45 in the morning.

Jill mumbled in awoken pain again. "Too early." She tried in vain to slam down the snooze button, for it was too far out of her reach, and The Black Eyed Peas were still oozing out of the speakers. Jill reached for the soft pillow underneath her head and threw it as hard as she could at the radio, missing and instead hitting the door. "Of course!" she yelled out, slamming into the bed again.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Oh, good you're up!" Brooke clapped excitedly, not bothering to notice the scowl on Jill's face. The brunette set the orange juice onto the counter, next a plate piled high with steaming pancakes and a bowl of ripe fruit. "Ready for breakfast?"

Jill looked from the breakfast to Brooke, to the clock on the stove. 5:50 am. "Is this a nightmare?"

Brooke waved her off. The woman was way too energetic in the mornings. It was unnatural. "No, it's your first day at Tree Hill High!"

"Brooke, I love you, but it isn't even day yet."

"Whatever. We've got tons of stuff to do. What were you planning on wearing?"

"Uh… jeans and a t shirt?"

Brooke gave Jill a look. "Honey. No. It's dress to impress!"

Jill laughed. "Impress who?"

"Hm…" Brooke's voice broke her thoughts. "Good point…" she reminisced slightly thinking about the good (and very, very bad) days at Tree Hill High. "Well. You never know who you're going to meet, right?"

Jill nodded, yet she didn't tell Brooke that that was exactly what she was afraid of. "Right."

"That's what I thought. Now come on girly, let's go assemble a wardrobe!"

Jill grinned at her enthusiasm. Good old Brooke. "What about my pancakes?"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jill was enjoying the meal Brooke had made for her, both of them intending to start a conversation, when Peyton walked into the room, still in her pajamas. She looked to Jill in disbelief. "What are you doing up? It's only 6:30."

Jill gulped down the last of her orange juice and gave Peyton a perky smile. "It's my first day at Tree Hill High!"

Peyton glared at her best friend, who was trying to hide behind the latest issue of _B. Davis _magazine. "Brooke. Did you get her up this early?"

"No… her radio did."

Peyton's eyes narrowed, and she looked to Jill, who couldn't help but nod as she munched on an apple. "Yup. My radio goes off by itself. It's magic."

"Brooke..." Peyton said in disapproval. She'd been anxious to say the least when she enrolled Jill in that high school, probably because of all those bad memories she'd had in the place: dating a baby daddy and getting into a nasty cat fight with his nearly psychotic ex girlfriend baby momma; being a third of a nasty love triangle that lasted way longer than it should've; being shot in the leg and thus forced to hide out in a school library with a boy she loved who didn't know she loved him. Or maybe he did. Who the hell knows? All Peyton really hoped for was that Jill's years at the school were better than hers.

"Okay, so maybe I did go all James Bond and sneak into her room." Brooke admitted, leaving out the part where she heard that _I Gotta Feeling_ was Jill's favorite song (it wasn't) so she set it as the alarm tune. "But you're one to talk P Sawyer. Why are _you_ awake?"

Peyton raised her eyebrows. "_I _was planning on driving my cousin to her first day at a new high school, plus I have a crazy day at the studio with Mia."

Brooke frowned. "I wanted to drive her."

"Okay well…."

Jill put up her two hands quickly, wanting to avoid any arguments. It was her way of ignoring that weird feeling that was growing in her stomach when she saw two people she cared about very much actually fight over which one of them got to take her to school. "You can both drive me!" she offered with a smile, her voice rising so she could be heard above their escalated bickering.

Brooke and Peyton became silent and looked to Jill. Both of them seemed to come to an agreement when they nodded. "Fine." Brooke conceded. "I will go get ready."

"I'm actually driving her!" Peyton couldn't help but call to a retreating Brooke.

"Fine, _you'll drive. _But Jill's wearing the clothes that _I _pick out for her!"

"Thanks Brooke!" Jill called, and Peyton gave her a look. "What? Oh come on, her clothes are pretty awesome."

Peyton huffed. "Fine, they are."

Jill laughed and passed Peyton her bowl of fruit.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The tires on Peyton's Mercury Comet spun to a stop on the gravel underneath when they pulled to the curb at Tree Hill High's visitor parking lot. Jill unclipped her seatbelt and jumped out of the convertible easily.

"Whoa." Brooke commented, marveling at how agile Jill was at getting out of the back of a two door. "How did you do that?"

"I spend hours jumping hurdles in soccer practice. This is a piece of cake."

Brooke nodded. "Oh." She turned to Peyton to whisper. "What the hell are hurdles?"

Peyton laughed and didn't get a chance to answer because Jill spoke first as she flung her new backpack on her shoulder. "Thanks for the ride. See you at three?"

"Uh…" Peyton answered as she got out of the car. "I was thinking I would go in with you." Not wanting to seem too overbearing, Peyton quickly took a step back. "I mean it's your first time here…." Usually new students had to meet with Principal Turner first, and Peyton wanted to be there just in case.

Jill laughed. "I can find my way." She turned and looked around at the bustling school full of students. "Place doesn't look too big."

"You sure?"

Jill nodded. "Positive."

"Okay…"

Brooke rolled her eyes. "Ugh, _come on_ P Sawyer, you're embarrassing her."

"I am not!" Peyton cried.

"Can we go?" Brooke changed the pace from the passenger seat. "I've gotta get to my store before my own mother fires me. Except, that wouldn't really work because I hired her- whatever. I definitely can't leave Millicent with her alone."

"Alright, alright." Peyton conceded. She walked over to Jill and gave her a quick hug before she reached into her purse. "Here's some lunch money. And I sneaked in that jersey of yours in case you really aren't a fan of Brooke's clothing." They both knew that the jersey was really a security thing.

Jill smiled, taking the money even though her wallet was well off. "Thanks. I'll call you if I need anything."

"Okay. I'll see you later!" Peyton said, squeezing Jill's arm and going back to her car.

Jill nodded. "Later."

"Tell Principal Turner we say hi." Brooke told Jill with a wink. She slid shades over her eyes and leaned on the passenger side of the car, looking like the model that she was.

"You really think he's gonna remember you?" Jill asked, somehow not wanting to know the answer to that question.

Brooke shared a knowing glance with Peyton, who shook her head. "Trust me, honey…he will."

Jill nodded, making sure to know the least amount of information concerning that look as much as possible. "Good to know." She waved and turned on her heels when she heard the starting roar of Peyton's engine. Jill walked closer to the front doors of the school, pulling down her favorite shades and told herself to just blend in with the crowd and follow when they piled into the opening doors.

"Bye Jill! Have fun!" came Brooke's obnoxious call as Peyton pulled away. When a few fellow schoolmates looked in Jill's direction warily, she shook her head and tried to get rid of any blush that might rise to her cheeks.

Jill was put at ease again when she managed to hear some of Peyton's reply. "Oh yeah, because that wasn't embarrassing at all, Brooke."

-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jill did her best to pile into the double doors, but she accidentally bumped into another guy with a devious look in his eye and a bad haircut-the same one that had been staring her down since her walk from the parking lot. "You might wanna watch where you're going, baby." he said with a smirk. Jill felt his hand trying to feel her up and she hit it away hard, smiling when he flinched.

"You too." Jill started to walk away, but the guy's voice stopped her.

"Whatever. You won't be saying that when you're under me later."

Jill cringed, and decided what the hell, even if this guy wasn't worth her giving him a piece of her mind, it was too good for her not to. She spun around on her feet and walked right up to him. "I know I'm the new girl and all, but where I'm from, the guys that try and hit on me could eat your pathetic poser ass for breakfast." Jill smirked when she saw the guys face starting to turn pink, and she heard the laugh of a girl she'd seen earlier behind her. It only fueled Jill's desire to get this guy humiliated, because something told her it didn't come often. "Plus, I don't think I would bother to be with a guy that had the IQ of a potato." Jill smiled cruelly. "See ya."

The same girl kept laughing. Jill subtly glanced in her direction. She was tall, with light brown hair and an athletic build, with a gorgeous, virgin-like complexion, and was quite beautiful. If you looked close enough you could see a scar on the bottom of her chin. Soon she spoke. "It had to happen someday, Darius."

The guy named Darius rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Michelle."

Jill began walking with a smile in the other direction, and she heard the girl named Michelle behind her. "Why don't you lay off and prey on someone who's too stupid to know you're a loser."

Darius smirked. "Oh, you mean, like you?"

Jill looked to the girl Michelle.

"Worst mistake of my life!" Michelle called down the hallway, as her sarcastic wave to him turned into a show of the middle finger. She turned to Jill when she heard her laugh.

"Nice." Jill couldn't help but comment out loud. It was always nice to see jerks get theirs.

Michelle shook her head, and before Jill knew it they were walking down the bustling hall together. She shuddered at the memory of the drunken hookup. "So gross."

"I think we've all been there."

Michelle laughed. "Yeah, unfortunately." They both reached the end of the hallway, and Jill could tell that Michelle had to go the other direction. "Principal Turner's office is down that way."

_She already knows I'm new? _ _Oh God, is it that obvious? _"Thanks." Jill returned, and went where she was directed. Sure enough, Jill found a door labeled _Samuel Turner, Principal. _She took a deep breath, reminded herself to be just the right amount of confident, and turned the door handle.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"I hope she's okay." Peyton said to Brooke as they sat at an intersection waiting for a red light to change.

"She's going to be _fine_, Peyton." Brooke assured her, placing a comforting hand on Peyton's leg. "This might be the easiest change in the world for her."

"Or it could be the hardest."

"God, such a pessimist!" Brooke attempted to joke, but she could tell Peyton wasn't having it. "Honey. Even if it is, she'll get through it. She has you, and me. Jill is a great girl, I guarantee you she's going to have a flock of new friends to tell us about by the end of today."

Peyton scoffed. "Yeah, she can tell us, but not her own brother."

Brooke frowned at the sadness in Peyton's voice. "Jill could call him and tell him about it."

"It's not the same."

Brooke nodded. "I know. DC is in New Hampshire, and Jill is here. I mean, you tried to change that, right?"

"Of course!" Peyton protested. "Of course I did. But he was already settled there when I spoke to my dad."

"Okay, so you try again when he's feeling not so settled. Peyton, _you know_ that we can't keep them separated for much longer. Not after all they have been through."

Peyton knew Brooke was right, so right that it hurt to even think about it. But, she had to be realistic, too and not just emotional about the situation. "Brooke, there might not even be room at your place."

Brooke scoffed. "Please. We can always make room. I miss that little guy."

"Me too." Peyton shook her head. "You'd really do that?"

Brooke looked at Peyton as though she was crazy. "For you? Of course."

Peyton glanced at her friend. Brooke Davis was no doubt the best thing Peyton had about her in a long time; she was the greatest friend Peyton could ever ask for…especially at a time like this. Brooke smiled, and she felt her eyes soften too. "Don't you dare thank me." Brooke demanded playfully before Peyton could even do so. "God this light is so damn long."

"I know. Remind me next time not to go this way." Peyton ran her hand through her hair as the other hand gripped the steering wheel of her comet.

"You hate back seat drivers."

"You're not in the back seat." Peyton quipped with a smile, and that's when she heard her phone vibrate in the little space beneath her car radio. She picked it up, and glanced at the caller ID. "It's Haley." she informed Brooke; because she knew her best friend would ask anyway. She flipped her phone to answer the call and placed it to her ear. "Hey Haley, I'll be there soon." When the light finally turned green, Peyton put her foot on the gas and her comet moved forward. "How's Mia?" When she listened only momentarily on the end of the line, Peyton's eyes widened. "She _what?" _her foot slammed on the break, and Brooke jerked forward, her seatbelt successfully restraining her.

"Jesus! What was that?" Brooke called out, frightened.

"Well, where the hell did she go?" Peyton ignored Brooke, waiting for Haley to answer her. "Okay, you know what, don't move. I'll be right there." Peyton threw down her cell phone and brought her car back into drive. "Sorry." she apologized quickly, keeping her eyes in front of her.

"What happened?"

Peyton turned to Brooke after rounding a curve in the road ahead of them both. "Mia's gone."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jill opened the door to reveal a spacious office with two large windows giving a great view of the river, and a wall lined inch to inch with full bookshelves, with a nice black leather chair behind a light wooden desk. Behind the wooden desk sat Principal Turner himself. He wore a simple gray suit and maroon tie, and was so invested in a pile of papers that lay in an open red file folder that he didn't even hear the door open. Turner looked up when Jill cleared her throat. "Can I help you?"

"Hi." Jill said, trying so hard to make sure it didn't out to be a very awkward situation. "I'm new." _Confident my ass. _

Thankfully, Jill learned that the famous Principal Turner wasn't exactly the mean type when he flashed her a warm smile: the same warmth that came from his brown eyes. "Do you have a name?"

Jill flinched. _You idiot._ "Of course. Sorry. I'm Jill Bennett. Today's supposed to be my first day… well, here, I mean."

Principal Turner laughed. "Jill Bennett…" he mused, getting up from his desk to unlock a file cabinet. He pulled out the right folder and opened it up. "Right, Jill Bennett. Transfer from Eleanor Roosevelt in New York City?"

"That's the one." Jill confirmed. "What else is in that folder?"

Principal Turner smiled, avoiding her question. "I got a call from a Ms. Peyton Sawyer saying she wanted you to start here. When I discussed it with her and mentioned all the paperwork and such that we needed for a sophomore transfer, she had it sent later that day."

"Well, that's cousins for you." Jill felt her heart warm up at all that Peyton did for her without hesitation.

Principal Turner agreed. "Oh yes. Especially when I hear 'I want her to start school there' with 'as soon as possible.'"

They both laughed. "Yeah, she really wasn't kidding."

"Which is why I've been looking forward to meeting with you. Ms. Sawyer is definitely among the mentionable alumni. Plus, your grades are stellar and I've been able to glance at previous teacher recommendations. I'm sure you'll be a grand addition to our school."

Jill didn't really know what to say. "That's great."

"So, Peyton will be here any minute, I presume?"

"Well, she wanted to come, but I sent her away. She's got a crazy day ahead of her and I wanted to make the smallest deal of this as possible." _There we go_, Jill told herself.

Turner nodded in approval. There was no lying when he thought he saw definite promise in the girl standing in front of him. "Well, I'd better get on it then." He walked over to a crisp folder on his desk and opened it up. "I usually have my secretary do this, but I knew this was a different case." Jill wondered briefly why, but she decided to keep quiet. Turner walked over to an expecting Jill with piles of paper. "Here is…a signed slip to receive your new student ID, the number you need to receive school lunch, a map of our campus, your locker number, and your schedule for the remainder of this first semester."

"Thank you." Jill replied, taking the folder in her hands and a mental note to organize it all later.

Turner nodded. "Oh, and I've taken the liberty of assigning you a fellow sophomore to make sure your first day is as smooth and comfortable as I can make it."

"Oh… you didn't have to do that."

"It's really no trouble."

"At least let me give you this back." Jill reached into the folder for the school map that Turner had given her.

Turner looked perplexed. "Are you sure? I don't want you to get lost."

"Nah, I won't." Jill told him, moving for the door. "I never get lost."

Turner chuckled. "If you say so." He opened the door for Jill to walk through to the hallway where the secretary sat behind her desk, busy with a phone call. "Have a nice first day, Miss Bennett."

Jill nodded with a smile. "Thank you, sir."

"No need for sir." Turner insisted. "Turner is fine. Sam is fine."

Jill looked at him for a second. "Okay. As long as you call me Jill."

Turner looked at her with a shake of his head. There were far too many similarities between Jill and Peyton Sawyer.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

On the way to her first class, Geometry, Jill did make the wrong turn one too many times and ended up in a freshman health class. That was awkward. The freshman boys looked way too excited for their own good. When Jill did make it to Geometry, the teacher, Mr. Campaña, did that really embarrassing thing where he introduced the new kid and all eyes were on her most of the time. When Jill tried to pull down her shades, Campaña threatened to confiscate them, and he wouldn't allow her to listen to her IPod when they were completing individual work from out of massive textbooks. So Jill sat and not very soon after realized she had already learned most of the material at ElRo. Campaña's drone voice had her nearly falling asleep that entire 50 minute period.

Jill breathed a sigh of relief when the bell rang. Stopping by her locker to drop off the textbook, she took another look at her schedule and saw that she had a free period. Thinking she should head to the library to get some quiet, once Jill walked in that's exactly what she got. The shelves and shelves of books presented her with a sense of comfort she'd long forgotten. Picking a nice, secure place with her own desk lamp, Jill opened to a folded over page in _Sense and Sensibility _and got lost in the words of her absolute favorite author.

Jill was so engrossed in the story that she didn't notice a chair move softly next to her. "Oh my God, I love that book!"

Jill looked up quickly, startled as she'd been thrown out of the world in between those pages. It was Michelle from the hallway.

"Sorry." Michelle amended, hiding her laugh when the librarian kept glaring at her. "I kind of get really excited about that stuff sometimes."

"It's okay." Jill assured her with a smile. "It's been a while since I've met someone who gets like that about Jane Austen." Jill had never even bothered to mention books to Erica because she knew it'd been forever since she'd actually read one. Sure, she could fool her English teachers like a charm, but Jill doubted Erica took any time to enjoy the works assigned to her.

"People are seriously deprived; she's amazing." Michelle gave a sincere smile and Jill didn't fail to see the look in her eyes that said she knew what she was talking about. "I'm Michelle, by the way."

Jill nodded. "I heard earlier," she said, causing Michelle to shake her head and roll her eyes. "I'm Jill."

"Hey." Michelle said warmly. "Don't worry, I can guarantee that the population in this high school isn't entirely made up of chronic jerks like Darius…" she paused for a second, "…. whatever the hell his last name is."

Jill laughed, softly so as not to piss off that old librarian. "That's good." Jill gestured to the book lying in front of her. "Which one is your favorite?"

"_Pride and Prejudice_." Michelle admitted. "I've read it so many times I can quote it in my sleep."

"You own all the film adaptations, don't you?"

"No! Only two."

"The Colin Firth one and the Keira Knightley one, right?"

"Yes…" Michelle told her, pink rising to her cheeks when she smiled. She revealed perfect straight teeth, which Jill reasoned was probably because she wore braces once. "I've watched them like a million times."

"They're both like, three hours long!"

"I know!" Michelle said back. "My parents think I'm insane."

"Yeah, I wonder why!" Jill told her with a laugh.

"Well thanks." Michelle said, starting to laugh herself.

The old librarian shushed the girls again, giving them both a scowl. Jill bit her lip to keep quiet; but Michelle rolled her eyes. "Ugh, all she does is tell people to shut up."

"She seems nice."

"No, you don't get it. See, she tries to fool you with that sweet grannie persona but then when you turn your back she's acting like she's got a stick up her ass. Bitch."

Jill started laughing, and then Michelle started laughing…her laugh was infectious and warm, which made Jill start laughing again.

Michelle spoke. "My friends and I think that she's got a secret stash of liquor hidden somewhere in the bookshelves."

"Oh my gosh, seriously? We should totally look for it."

Michelle chuckled. "We should."

Then came the moment of comfortable silence. A comfortable silence that said so much. Unbeknownst to the two, it marked the beginning of a true friendship.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It turned out that Jill and Michelle had French together, and they rushed from the library so they wouldn't be late. Stuck in a desk, Jill was getting the beginning of an ugly headache trying to decipher what in the hell she had to do for all of this to make sense. Jill peered at Michelle's work: she was already at the end of the page. Desperate, Jill tapped Michelle on the shoulder with the other end of her pencil. Michelle turned to her.

"I think I should switch to Spanish." Jill whispered. "I have no idea what the hell is going on."

Before Michelle could reply, the crotchety old teacher whose name Jill didn't bother to remember began to speak. "Miss Finnerty." She motioned for Michelle to get up with a bend of her index finger. Michelle was given a yellow slip. Jill saw from the corner of her eye that the teacher and Michelle glanced in her direction.

The faint sounds of pencil to paper filled Jill's ears, and the next thing she knew a piece of torn off loose paper was at the corner of her desk. On the paper was neat, aesthetic handwriting…a short note from Michelle.

_ Please tell me you're Jill Bennett? Apparently I'm your escort for the day. _Michelle quickly flashed Jill the yellow slip she had gotten, with Principal Turner's signature at the bottom.

Jill wrote underneath Michelle's note after handing her back the slip: _Guilty._

"Thank God." Michelle whispered gratefully. "I was afraid I would get some really strange kid who chewed on their fingernails."

"Does that really happen?"

Michelle nodded. "Like you wouldn't believe."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The period finished, and by that time Jill was positive she'd need to speak to her advisor about switching her foreign language to Spanish. It was now lunchtime, and the hallways exploded with chattering students practically running to enjoy the nice day outside. Jill and Michelle walked shoulder and shoulder together towards the lunch tables. "I usually eat lunch with my friends Gabby and Eliza. I'm sure they'd be up for making some more room."

Jill could tell that Michelle was making an effort, and she decided what the hell. "Okay, that sounds cool."

The pair stepped through the double doors, past the vending machines, and to the wooden lunch tables full of students chatting and laughing with their lunches, with Jill surveying the crowd that were now to be called her school mates. It was all so different for her. Jill was used to everyone scattering once they made it to the street, off with their friends to the nearest store in the middle of the city. Here, only those deserving juniors or seniors (that had cars) could leave the campus during lunch break. So what the hell was Jill supposed to do when she got tired of the lunch food here? Three options: make friends with someone who had a car, pack her own lunch, or get her shit together and get her driver's permit, depending on what the age was here. In Jill's defense, she never bothered with a car in New York City. There was no need for it.

"Oh, just so you know…" Michelle's voice broke Jill's thoughts. "We're kind of grouped by tables."

Jill looked at her. "No…please tell me you're not."

"I know, it sucks. But that's the way it is."

Jill was disappointed. It was never like that at ElRo. People mingled, they ate with whomever they wanted to eat with. No one was obligated to eat with certain people because they excelled at academic subjects or because they were dedicated to athletics. Certainly, there were people who could always be found together, but you couldn't tell why. There weren't any jocks, or nerds, or 'plastics', there were just…. kids. "Wow."

"It's not that bad." Michelle reassured her. "I mean it's not like we all hate each other or something. We just don't eat lunch together because we don't have much in common."

Jill nodded, she'd take that for now. She had to reminded herself to feel lucky that she found someone she had something in common with so quickly and she didn't have to feel weird. "I guess that makes sense."

"Culture shock?" Michelle guessed knowingly. "It'll pass soon." Michelle motioned Jill up ahead to a table already occupied by two girls eating their lunch. "There's Gabby and Eliza." She waved obnoxiously to them both, causing Jill to laugh. Michelle rolled her eyes and muttered something about how the heck they still didn't notice her.

"Why don't we just walk over to them?"

"I thought waving would be cooler."

Jill kept a straight face (which was difficult). "But it's not working."

"_I know that." _Michelle enunciated. Jill laughed again. There was something about this girl's facial expressions.

On the way back from the lunch line, Michelle was explaining which food choice would be the best bet, when she pulled on Jill's arm suddenly. It was too late. Jill's body crashed with that of another student. Of course she wasn't spared; the soda she decided to treat herself with spilled all over her Clothes Over Bro's top, creating a nasty stain. Jill jumped back in shock, to see another student apologizing profusely and offering to buy her another soda.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Jill answered, to look down and see just how big the stain was. Brooke was not going to be happy. "Great."

Both girls turned around at the sound of an obnoxious laugh. One they both knew all too well by now. It was Darius, thinking he looked all cool sitting on top of the _table_ and not the actual bench. Jill wanted to tell him that that wasn't proper table manners and he actually looked like an idiot, but there was a voice in her head telling her he wouldn't care, so why waste her breath.

Michelle rolled her eyes. "He's such an asshole. I might have another shirt in my locker if you want to borrow it?"

Jill shook her head. It was almost like Peyton's motherly instinct was already kicking in. She inwardly smiled. "Nah, I actually have something else. I'll meet you back at the table?"

Michelle nodded and took Jill's tray. "Yeah, sure."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jill reached the empty girl's bathroom, and used the silence to her advantage. Walking into a stall just in case, she peeled the sticky top off of her body and reached into her backpack for the jersey Peyton had put in there for her. Sure enough, her white England jersey was there, carefully folded. It was the official jersey of soccer superstar David Beckham, one that Jill spent a lot of time and effort to save her money for. The shirt was just the right size, and hugged her body comfortably. With this thought firm in her mind, Jill strode out of the bathroom stall, intent on meeting her new friend for lunch. But because her backpack was swung over her shoulder, and because she had her eyes focused on the bathroom door, Jill was unable to notice one important detail. The jersey did not say Beckham on it, like Jill originally thought. Instead the jersey belonged to another member of the English National soccer team from many, many years ago. His last name was Bennett.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_Jill's last name is on an official English Jersey? What does that mean? Does it mean anything? Can you connect the dots? _

_Next chapter, we'll see Jill play a little bit of soccer and she will also have a few scenes with Lucas. So, there are some scenes from the show that I will keep either because a) I love them or b) I consider them key to the progression of this story. Did you like Jill's new friends? FYI, the interaction between Turner and Jill is going to be key in later chapters so keep an eye out. The DC issue will be touched on later as well as soon as Jill settles into a new school. _


	5. My First Day at Tree Hill High, Part II

_Hey people! _

**missshay16...**_Yes, Jill is British, but has no accent. She was born in NYC, but has dual-citizenship because her father was born in Liverpool, as mentioned in Chapter 1. There will be LOTS of DC/Jill soon, I promise! _

**Othello**..._You're right, Beckham has lived his day, hasn't he. Maybe Peyton will buy Jill a Gerrard jersey later on :) _

My First Day at Tree Hill High

Part II 

The rest of the car ride through Tree Hill was frenzy for Peyton. She dropped Brooke off at her boutique in a blur before speeding off to the studio. She had no idea what to expect, just that her one and only recording artist was _gone. _As if Peyton had any idea how the hell that happened, all she knew was that Brooke was holding what she almost considered blind faith in her to catapult her Record Label, which meant that the designer put up _a lot_ of money- a _whole damn_ lot- to help her out. But there was no way this label would work if Peyton had no artists. Peyton almost went dizzy before bursting into the booth of the studio. Haley stood there waiting. "Hey, so tell me again what happened?" Peyton didn't Lindsey was in the room until second glance. "You walked in and then what?"

"Yeah, and Victoria was there waiting and she says she wants to hear Mia play _No Good_. Next thing I know she scares poor Mia half to death and now she's gone."

Peyton knew that Mia was gone. She knew that already. "Gone where?" she asked for the second time, clearly exasperated.

"Wish I knew. She just packed up all her stuff, kept saying how much she sucked, and ran off."

"Can you blame her? She seemed so humiliated." Lindsey broke in.

Peyton met Lindsey's gaze. She really was in no mood to start a conversation, much less regarding her recording artist, and her business. Not to mention that comment seemed completely random and out of place. She didn't need random and out of place comments, not when she was getting more and more stressed out by the second. So stressed that Peyton was starting to think the only reason Lindsey was trying to talk was to join in and not feel left out. As usual, Lindsey seemed to be trying too hard. Well, at least Peyton thought so. "I'm sorry, can you just give us a second?"

Lindsey nodded silently and left the booth, leaving Peyton and Haley alone, where Haley didn't fail to send Peyton a _what was that_ look. Peyton ignored it. "What's Lindsey doing here?"

Haley looked slightly taken aback. "She came with me: we're going to have lunch."

"Okay, I don't want her here. You know how temperamental artists are, Haley."

Haley raised her brows. She wasn't stupid, she was well aware of the tension between Lindsey and Peyton but she saw nothing, at least anything recent, that would harbor Peyton to be so hostile toward her. Well, besides Lucas. And frankly Haley didn't want to get into that because Lucas confused even her on her best day. "Apparently so are label owners."

"No, she doesn't belong here. I don't want anyone in the studio." Peyton insisted, trying to keep her cool and trying to focus although her mind was running in all kinds of directions.

Haley almost rolled her eyes. "Anyone or Lindsey?"

"Anyone _including _Lindsey." Peyton persisted. Why did it even matter? It was her artist, her label. Artists recording songs was meant to be a private time where they could think clearly so they could write the best they could or play their hearts out. She knew she was right, and Haley's defense was starting to irk her. "Look, I know everyone loves her, and that's great, but right now, Mia's _gone_, and she's in here running off about how bad everything is."

"She didn't mean anything by it." Haley defended. "Don't get mad at Lindsey just because Mia's gone."

Peyton almost bit her lip. It wasn't just about Mia. It was about Jill and her first day at a new high school. Peyton was anxious and would be anxious until she heard from Jill at lunch. It was also about other things that Peyton didn't want to admit yet because she was almost hoping those stupid rehashed feelings would go away. "I'm not mad at her."

"You sound mad at her."

Peyton sighed. "I'm not." She put her hand to her chest; Peyton was getting dizzy and she thought she might lose it. "Maybe I just don't like her." There it is. Said and revealed. Released and gone. _Happy now?_

Haley didn't miss a beat. "Well you don't have to…" her sentence was cut off and she took a sharp breath.

"What?" Peyton followed Haley's gaze to the engineering board. In Peyton's haste to retrieve some kind of explanation for this sudden mess, she had thrown down her bag on top of the board, and in the process, the bag hit the _Auto TB _button. Which meant Lindsey heard their entire conversation.

Fuck.

Haley and Peyton looked to the recording room, where sure enough, Lindsey stood with one hand on her waist and the other on top of the black piano. She had a scowl on her face. Yeah… she'd heard everything.

Peyton sighed in embarrassment. Could this get any worse? Despite Peyton's efforts to avoid Lindsey's burning glare she still heard the editor's voice. "I'm gonna go, Haley."

"Yeah, I'll call you."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jill made the return walk from the girl's bathroom to the lunch tables fairly quickly. She was officially hungry and honestly anxious to meet Michelle's new friends Gabby and Eliza. She wondered what they'd be like. She wondered how they all met. She wondered if she'd get as lucky as she did with Michelle. Jill's thoughts led her outside to the lunch tables where she recognized Michelle sitting with two girls, both dirty blonde but one of them had a lighter shade of blonde hair than the other did. When she got closer, Jill could see that the girl on the right sitting across from Michelle had this gorgeous shade of hazel eyes, and so did the girl on the left. She didn't know which one was Gabby and which was Eliza, but they sure did look similar. As Jill walked toward them, she noticed all three of them were in animated conversation. "Hey sorry." Jill interrupted. Michelle turned to her.

"Oh hey." Michelle scooted over on the bench and motioned for Jill to sit, but not before she gestured to the two pretty girls sitting across from her, who had kind eyes and contagious smiles. "So these are my friends, Gabby and Eliza." Gabby sat on the left; she was the one with the dirty blonde hair, which she had pulled up into a neat bun. She was really pretty, again with those eyes and a sweet smile. She looked smart. Eliza sat next to her on the right; with much more light blonde hair and kind brown eyes. She had the same smile that Gabby did, and they had the same complexion. Eliza seemed shy. Whoa. They really did look alike. "Guys this is Jill." Michelle introduced casually. "She's new."

"Thank you, we noticed." Gabby said. She smiled sweetly in Jill's direction. Her and Eliza both said hello almost at the exact same time, which happens often when you're introduced to more than one person.

Jill looked at the girls momentarily. "Are you guys twins?"

Gabby smiled. "Fraternal. I'm two minutes older."

"That's cool. Twice the fun."

The girls smiled. "Yeah totally. So how do you like Tree Hill High?"

Jill told them it was fine so far, and she mentioned Campaña and how he seemed to be really strict and rigid. Michelle replied that unfortunately he was, but she also said that now that she was in Algebra II she really missed that class and all of the drawing shapes. They all laughed. Jill continued when Michelle told the twins that she was Jill's assigned sophomore, and before that they'd coincidentally met up in the library when Michelle noticed Jill was reading _Sense and Sensibility._

Eliza and Gabby looked at each other. Gabby waved her off and looked toward Jill. "Ugh, her and her Jane Austen."

Jill laughed, even more so when she saw Eliza behind mouthing _crazy _with wide eyes.

Michelle scowled playfully. "Shut up, I like her okay!"

Gabby scoffed. "Psh, _like. _More like um… totally and completely obsessed."

Michelle couldn't hold back her smile and decided to keep eating. Eliza and Gabby laughed, and Jill decided she liked them: all three of them. They were nice, smart, funny, and they got along well. This lunch was one of the best she'd had in a while.

Jill told the twins about her encounter with that old librarian, whom she later learned went formally by Librarian Perkins. Jill decided she had to bring up that topic of hidden alcohol. "Is it true that she keeps a stash?"

Eliza and Gabby lit up and instantly were animated again. "Oh my God! Yes it is!" They chattered. "No seriously, Jill. It is. Perkins is a complete boozy."

"I remember this one time I had to check out a book for American History class and her breath smelled like vodka!" Eliza exclaimed. "I swear."

"Are you sure you're not just imagining things?" Jill asked to humor her.

Eliza's eyes widened at that simple thought which made everyone laugh. "Um, _no!_ It's true! I'll show you."

Michelle broke in. "I told her we were going to look for her hidden stash one of these days."

Gabby nodded in recognition. "No, we are. It's not a choice. It's on the agenda."

Jill just laughed and shook her head as she picked at her fruit salad. "Scandalous."

"Oh, this whole damn school is scandalous trust me."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Their banter continued until Eliza asked where Jill had come from, and Jill told Eliza she was living with Peyton and how they were first cousins, and about New York and being English and all of that. But Jill was careful not to reveal too much. Jill learned that Gabby and Eliza were very studious and devout Catholics. Gabby's favorite subject was Social Studies and Eliza's was English. Their mother was very strict and punctual to the point of annoyance.

"Nice jersey, by the way." Michelle motioned, finishing up a cup of vanilla pudding.

"Oh, thanks." Jill was so into getting to know her new friends she'd forgotten she was wearing it.

"Oh yeah, I was gonna say something." Gabby said. "Do you like soccer? We love it. All three of us, it's kind of like our thing."

It was Jill's turn to light up. "Really? That's so awesome." She couldn't help but feel elated. Back at ElRo she didn't meet as many people who adored soccer...football... like she did. Sure, they watched the World Cup every four years, but Jill tracked Liverpool's game schedule and had walked an empty Camp Nou in Barcelona. Jill had met Ronaldinho, and had sat with her father above the English bench during an international match, within voice distance of David Beckham. Jill decided not to reveal all her experiences just yet however, and searched how to sum all of them up... from kicking a ball since she was two to just last summer, where she volunteered to teach kids how to play the game at an orphanage in Southern India. "It's kind of like…my life."

"Really? Me too."

"That actually makes me ridiculously happy."

Gabby broke in. "Alright that means you love it more than we do. We love it, and we play, but Michelle…there's no match. Well, maybe now she's got one."

Jill smiled at the recognition. "Favorite club team?"

Michelle didn't hesitate. "Liverpool."

Jill's eyes widened. No damn way. "_Me too. _My family is from there. I'm obsessed: you have no idea. Like you know those people that get into fist fights at the stadiums with the war paint? That's me whenever I go to England."

Michelle laughed. "I can imagine."

"What do you think of Manchester United?"

"Don't even mention them to us." Eliza warned.

"Ugh, _I hate_ them. And Chelsea. Ugh." Michelle shuddered.

Jill could breath. Oh, thank God. "Okay, this is weird. I hate them too."

"Yay!" the twins cheered. "This is awesome." Gabby said. "I love when awesome new people come."

"Me too." Eliza agreed. "I like you. Nice pick Michelle."

Jill laughed. "I like you guys too. Favorite international team?"

"Spain!"

Jill laughed. "Oh my God, this is crazy. They're mine too. I mean, first instinct is England obviously, but Spain is a close, close second."

Gabby spoke jokingly. "Ugh, Jill you have no idea with this girl and Spain." She gestured to Michelle, who just smiled proudly like she knew what Gabby was going to say. "It's ridiculous. I mean she's not even Spanish, her last name is Finnerty for crying out loud."

"You don't have to be from the country to root for the team." Michelle defended.

"I know, I know." Gabby replied. "I mean in a way that's what the World Cup is all about, national unity and peace and tolerance and whatever."

Jill laughed and she wondered if what Michelle said earlier about people hanging out with only the ones they had stuff in common with was true.

"And whatever?" Eliza chuckled.

"You know what I mean. Michelle are you sure you're not in love with Spain just because they're good?" Gabby challenged.

"They are good." Jill and Michelle said in unison with blank expressions on their faces.

Gabby rolled her eyes. "_I know they are_, but what happened to the USA?"

"I like the USA, of course I do!" Michelle defended. "They're getting there."

Jill remained indifferent. "…And they also suck."

Gabby's mouth dropped. "Hey! They're the underdogs!"

"Yeah for how long?"

Eliza shook her head. "You guys are just mean, Spanish bullies."

Jill smiled. "Wait, what happened to _national unity?" _

"Yeah what happened?" Michelle added, and the pair laughed.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Eliza and Gabby tried not to care as Jill and Michelle continued to celebrate that their favorite player on the Spanish team was Fernando Torres, both because he was good, he played club for Liverpool, and because well, he was damn gorgeous: him and Sergio Ramos. But Jill admitted that the one guy that trumped both of them at least for her was Spain's goalkeeper, Iker Casillas. Michelle respected it by saying he was of the best keepers in the world.

The girl's playful banter was interrupted by a guy's voice Jill had yet to know from behind their lunch table. "Yo, Woodson, what can I get for those cookies of yours?" Jill turned to see a tall brown haired boy around her age, with a goofy smile and brown eyes.

Michelle rolled her eyes. "Okay, first of all, Isaiah, you're the whitest kid I know. Don't say _yo." _

The guy named Isaiah shrugged. "Damn Michelle, why are you always hating?"

Michelle just looked at him. "I'm not _hating_," Jill tried not to laugh at how foreign that word must've felt on Michelle's tongue. I'm just saying."

"Yeah well what I'm saying is that I'm trying to use a different vernacular, you feel me?"

Michelle rolled her eyes. "No, I don't _feel you_. Just stop talking."

Isaiah smirked. "Or what?"

"I'll smack you."

"Please do."

Jill laughed and Eliza and Gabby just ignored him. They were so used to Isaiah by now, they'd known him since Elementary School.

Michelle made a disgusted face. "No thanks."

Isaiah just laughed knowing Michelle was just being her regular self and turned his attention back to Gabby. "Seriously Woodson, those cookies?"

Gabby motioned to the candy bag that was still unopened in Isaiah's left hand. "Your Sour Patch."

"I just bought these!"

"Well what did you expect?"

Jill looked between both of them. "I feel like I'm in third grade again."

Eliza laughed. "I miss third grade!"

Regardless, Gabby and Isaiah made the trade. "The way I see it," Isaiah began, noticing their gaze as he opened the package of cookies with his fingers. "It's an equal deal. Both parties benefit."

Michelle rolled her eyes and spoke in a low voice to Jill next to her. "This kid, man: with the debating. Ever since he joined the debate team here, he debates about everything. Actually, no, he debated about everything _before_ the team. Pain in the ass."

"Is he good?" Jill asked out of curiosity. She wanted to see if Michelle could possibly compliment Isaiah.

"Yeah." Michelle admitted. "He's probably gonna make it to Nationals this year."

"Whoa. Nice."

"Don't even mention it to him. He's so arrogant."

"Hey new girl!" Isaiah called to Jill.

Michelle scowled. "She has a name you know."

"Jill."

"Isaiah. Do you see what I'm saying about the hating?" he referred to Michelle, who ignored him by rolling her eyes. "I was gonna compliment you on your jersey."

Jill nodded; she wondered what was so extraordinary about a Beckham jersey but oh well. "Thanks. You're like…the fourth person to tell me that in 20 minutes."

Isaiah didn't look surprised, which in turn surprised Jill a bit. "Well, you know it's been a while since I've seen a Bennett jersey. At least, a jersey like that one. I think my dad has one somewhere. But man, Bennett was one of the greats huh? Truly a legend."

Jill's eyes widened and words froze in her throat in complete shock. _What? Did he just say Bennett? _Jill was so shocked she almost choked on her own spit. Her mind was spinning. _How?_ But then she figured it out. Peyton packed her that jersey just in case, she said. She packed the wrong one! Not the Beckham one, the other one Jill kept. The other one she didn't know _why_ she kept. Peyton gave her the wrong jersey. Fuck. Shit. Fuck. Jill was speechless. "Um…" She tried not to meet Michelle's gaze. Michelle was looking at her strangely, and Jill saw the wheels clicking in her head. Fuck. Michelle was going to figure it out. She prayed Michelle only thought it was one of those special jerseys made with her last name placed on the back. Michelle was smarter than that. Besides, Isaiah already said: he meant the jerseys the players of the English National Team wore all those years ago. Jill was wearing one: an original one. Well, actually no. The original one sat framed in a place she knew too well. This was just a copy of the original. But it was original enough. Fuck.

"Who?" Michelle asked. She looked back at Jill, and she noticed the girl's cheeks were really pink and she was staring at her lunch tray, almost in shame.

Isaiah stared at her. "David Bennett: one of the greatest soccer players ever: he was a master of the feint and he played striker for England in the 1970s and 1980's. Scored the most goals in two consecutive World Cups. He also played for Liverpool and won them championships as well as Most Valuable Player repeatedly. He's influential to the likes of Beckham, Rooney, Thierry Henry, _and _Zidane. I could go on all day. That guy was sick. The only reason he stopped was because he got injured in that one game against Germany in an international friendly in 1989."

Jill just looked at him. This kid has obviously done his homework. Isaiah had just about summed up her entire childhood, and her prechildhood years, what with all the stories her father used to tell her before bedtime of his "glory days."

Michelle stared at Jill. Something was up here. David Bennett, the renowned soccer player for England and Liverpool…Jill's last name was Bennett. She loved soccer. Her favorite team was Liverpool. She was English. It was too coincidental. …. No. Could it be?

Jill avoided Michelle's gaze and stared down at the picnic table. She was obviously uncomfortable.

Eliza broke the silence after checking her cellphone. "Oh damn, you guys lunch is over. We're gonna be late." She immediately started gathering up her garbage and headed to the trashcan. Gabby did the same.

"Why the rush?" Isaiah asked them all. "We merge gym classes, and it's after lunch, remember?"

"Oh yeah."

Jill looked puzzled. "Gym after lunch?" She was so glad for the change of the subject.

"Yeah, I know." Michelle realized. "Wait, I thought Mr. Harris was absent today?"

"Oh you're right, I forgot about that." Eliza's eyes suddenly lit up. "Do you think that means Coach Scott will sub? I hope so."

Jill perked up. Coach Scott? No.

"He is." Isaiah confirmed Jill's fears. "I saw him with the freshmen earlier."

Eliza, Michelle and Gabby all looked thrilled. Jill certainly wasn't. Lucas was subbing for her gym class. Great.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After changing into their mandatory gym attire, Jill and her new friends made their way into the gym- the entrance still remaining under the Whitey Durham Field House. It was seemed peaceful there, with one stray of golden light seeping through the doors. That's exactly how Lucas liked it: quiet and peaceful. Until the kids came in for Phys. Ed all hyped up on unhealthy food and sugar. Lucas wasn't a big fan of 5th period gym. He _hated _subbing for it. But, he genuinely loved the kids at Tree Hill High, and got along with most of them…they joked around and laughed. The kids viewed him with a high caliber of respect, considering he was the guy who won Whitey Durham and the Tree Hill Ravens their first State Championship with an epic three pointer right at the final buzzer. In other words, he had game. Not to mention, Luke was now the coach selected to continue Whitey's legacy.

Lucas sat there laughing with two guys on his team. That's how Jill found him as she walked in the gym following Michelle and the twins. Isaiah had walked up ahead to see Alan and Victor, considering they were his teammates and he referred to Lucas as Coach. According to Michelle, Isaiah was the typical scholar athlete.

Jill observed this legendary gym…the beautiful hardwood floors, the folded bleachers, the _Ravens_ emblem painted right in the middle of the court, as this was indeed their home stage. The 1989 State Championship Runner Up Banner hung proudly in white from the ceiling, and right next to it was the State Champions Banner in blue from 2007. On the far wall she saw the league standings- Tree Hill was pretty high up there. Her eyes panned to the next wall, where she saw two white Ravens' jerseys framed proudly. On the far right was Durham's jersey- number one, along with a golden plaque underneath that was inscribed with Whitey's name and the years he played for the team. On the far left was of course, the number 23. Jill smiled proudly. _Way to go, Nathan. _

Jill stood standing on the red line next to Michelle and the twins with one thought: this school was serious about their basketball.

Jill heard Michelle whisper something to her and the twins: "Coach is so hot it's not even fair."

Jill wasn't going to admit that Lucas was good looking. Of course he was really good looking with his cute smile and dimples and blue eyes: Jill wasn't blind. She just never thought of him like that; more like a big brother all the girls went crazy over. She'd just smile smugly and think _too bad_ because her cousin Peyton was Luke's girl.

Gabby whispered back. "I know!"

Eliza spoke. "Guys don't forget he has a girlfriend."

Jill cringed and almost scowled. Michelle and Gabby voiced her thought as they spoke at the exact moment. "Shut up!"

The jovial chattering of the students died down almost instantly as Lucas blew his whistle. "Alright guys, quiet down, quiet down." he called to the students, who followed his lead. He smiled. "Not too much sugar today, huh?" he joked. All the girls laughed. Subsequently Lucas reached for his favorite black pen, flipped through his clipboard, and began calling attendance. It didn't take long for Jill to realize that the list he was reading from was in alphabetical order by last name. Great, now she couldn't pretend to be invisible like she wanted to.

Lucas read diligently through the list of names and waited for them to either say _here_, some might of said _Hi _or _yeah _or even something old school like _present_ just to sound annoying. He paused only briefly before reading a particular name. The gym full of students stood there quietly waiting. Lucas cleared his throat. "Jill Bennett."

Several students looked around the gym to spot the girl who matched a name they'd never heard before. Isaiah looked at Jill with a questioning glance. _Bennett?_ He thought to himself. His eyes remained curiously on new girl, observing her face as quite a few people stared at her. He remembered those moments at the lunch table: Jill was wearing a limited edition _Bennett _jersey. His mind was spinning. _No fucking way. _Isaiah laughed to himself. _That's impossible._ He shrugged it off with finality. But truthfully, in the back of his mind, Isaiah was silently wondering if David Bennett had any children.

"She's right here!" Michelle said loudly, as a joke. Jill cracked a smile and nudged Michelle's arm playfully.

Lucas did the same at the thought of Jill already having new friends. He knew Michelle Finnerty…a sure spitfire…but a sweet girl with a very bright future…the proof was in her charisma and intelligence. It was no wonder her and Jill seemed to be getting along well already. He also knew the Woodson Twins- bubbly and bright and funny, two very nice girls. Lucas found himself commending Jill for her choices. The man wasn't a stranger to snotty and close-minded girls that once dated some of his players. The Woodson Twins and Michelle didn't fit into that category, he was proud to say.

"Here…" Jill said.

Lucas nodded subtly before moving on to the rest of roll call. After he was finished, he stood a little straighter and began to speak. He could tell the kids were getting antsy to do something. The majority of them enjoyed Phys Ed- especially when 'Coach' (as everyone affectionately calls him) subbed because they admitted he was way more fun than Peter Harris or Leslie Monahan. "Alright so obviously Mr. Harris couldn't make it in today." he paused as a few students cheered. "So I'll be filling in. What do you guys think of free time?" Lucas always found free time to be the easiest option- there was always something to make someone happy in the end, and he thought it to be better concerning social terms- the kids could mingle with all the different activities instead of most likely conversing with the kids on their team if they were to play something like volley ball.

"Can we play dodge ball?" a student asked. A handful of kids agreed.

Lucas almost rolled his eyes. "No." He hated dodge ball. The game was a bunch of kids throwing objects at each other? The whole point of the game was to hit each other. Lucas had borne witness to students getting bloody noses and black eyes one too many times for him _not_ to consider dodge ball a mindless waste of time.

"Oh, come on, Coach."

"You guys, you do realize throwing those things at each other is dangerous and stupid?"

"….But it's fun."

"Yeah, but then you come complaining to me when you get hit too hard."

The student ducked his head in embarrassment as all his buddies start laughing at him in good humor.

"Anyway," Lucas continued, "that was a rhetorical question, and we are going to do free time. Wyatt!" he called to the crowd.

Jill noticed Isaiah run up to Lucas. _Isaiah Wyatt. _She heard Lucas tell Isaiah to run into the supply room and grab the free time stuff. Isaiah immediately obliged.

"We're not going to stay in here today." Lucas announced. "Even though I love my gym," he said jokingly (well, not really) and paused so that the kids could laugh. "It's a beautiful day outside and if I have to sit here and watch you guys go crazy without getting air it's going to be bad. So we're heading out to the fields, once we're there you guys can do whatever you want. Just try not to kill each other."

The class laughed, and with that, everyone, including Jill, headed outside. She was happy to avoid Lucas' gaze and blend in with the crowd. She reached the fields and everyone ran like mad to the brown crates filled with bouncing balls, Frisbees, paddles, baseballs and bats. Jill's eyes glinted when she saw the unmistakable white shine of a soccer ball. She was headed to the crates when she heard Michelle's voice.

"Already ahead of you." she said with a smile, proudly cradling a white, speckled soccer ball with Michelle's last name written in capital letters across the top. "You wanna play?"

"Hell yeah."

"So what position do you play?" Michelle asked, as they jogged to where Eliza and Gabby stood with Isaiah Wyatt and others.

"Left midfield." Jill's mind was taken over by the memories of triumphs and heartbreaks; waking up in the small hours of the morning and heading out to the soccer field where the grass was fresh and promising; sipping hot chocolate on the mornings it was cold; the anticipation of a winning goal…scoring a winning goal. Soccer had been with Jill in the early days where she could barely take a few steps. It was her release, it was her fuel, and it was her concentration. Sure her life had been thrown into whirlwind since arriving in Tree Hill but she knew soccer would always be her constant. Always. She focused back to Michelle. "But I'm up for anything. You?"

"I play sweeper, primarily." A sweeper was just the last defender on the line before the goalkeeper. Michelle was versatile and tough in her role, and without her games wouldn't be nearly as competitive. "Gabby and Eliza are right and left wingers."

"Nice."

"Yeah, but we try to switch it up as much as possible to become more versatile. In defense, offense, all the way to ball handling and man marking." Michelle explained. Jill was impressed, and it was great news to her that her new friends were so dedicated-this game was going to be interesting. "Then if we find the time we work on tricks for fun."

Jill smirked to herself…if Michelle only knew. "This should be interesting then."

The teams were already assembled, as if a low-key scrimmage during free time was already a default. Gabby and Eliza stood waiting while Isaiah Wyatt and four other guys agreed to play: Eric, a muscular guy with glasses and a sense of humor who constantly showed faith to his Romanian heritage; Ron a junior (meant to be in study hall this period) who hailed from Kosovo; Ned, a brilliant redhead who played banjo; and Aaron, whose one trademark was that he spoke ridiculously fast to the point where teachers told him on multiple accounts to _please, slow down. _ "We've got one more." Michelle announced. "Jill is playing."

"Sweet!" Gabby said. "Cristina's got goal."

Cristina Valdés, with her silky black hair and mulatto skin, was a freshman that found her love for soccer in those hot summers she'd spent with her cousins in Puerto Rico. At first she stayed away from the action on purpose, but she was begged to play seeing as the friend that usually did was sick with fever. Amidst the masculinity of her cousins, Cristina was determined to hide her fear of the ball coming toward her at rapid speed and considerable force. She found the pace of the game to be exhilarating and rapturuous, making her heart pound in ways it never had. Tina's cousins later realized she had something when she blocked a shot with the tip of her foot at the last second. Her cousin Jonathan took note, and everyday instead of being dragged with her grandmother into town, Cristina went off with Jonathan to the back of his house on the mountains where he made her block his strong shots from dusk till dawn.

Tina was thrilled, to say the least, when Gabby and Michelle discovered her only a month and a half into her freshman year, during which she was found blocking a friend's playful shots out on the seemingly empty field.

Because these little games were just to have fun and burn off energy, it wasn't at all formal, which meant there wouldn't be fixed positions (most likely) during play. That didn't mean Jill wasn't going to show these Tree Hillers where she came from and that she was (most definitely) going to kick serious ass. Because she was new, Michelle forced her to flip the coin to see who had ball first. "Heads or tails?" Jill turned to her teammates.

"You pick!"

Isaiah smirked from where he stood in front of her, his "boys" behind him waiting. "Don't get freaked out now, new girl."

Jill scoffed and met him in the face. "Yeah right." She watched keenly as Isaiah flipped the silver coin into the air. "Heads."

The two teens looked eagerly when the quarter got lost in the grass. Isaiah smirked in victory. "Too bad, tails."

Jill just nodded and stepped back as Isaiah and Eric got ready for kickoff. Herself, Michelle and the twins had already mapped out some semblance of a game plan. Jill was excited: hopefully there was some chemistry between all of them and they could make this work. There was no way she was going to lose a game on her first day.

"Let's see what you've got!" Aaron called to Jill across the way. She was used to it; the competition and taunting that came with the sport. Ever since she was a kid, and _especially_ when Jill's father urged her to her first co-ed team a few years ago. Jill was the only girl on the squad, and with every game had to prove herself. Needless to say, this harmless encounter was one she could beast with her eyes closed.

Jill smirked in Aaron's direction. "Man, you better hope I don't get the ball."

As they went into position, Michelle was laughing. "Getting a little arrogant are we?"

"Blame the game."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Clothes over Bro's had a few customers in it this afternoon who had yet to make a final decision on what to buy. They were browsing the items, searching and trying things on. Brooke was patient, her clothes were too fabulous, they'd buy eventually. She was going over work plans with Millicent when her amazing assistant mentioned the new teenaged roommate. "So how's Jill doing?"

Brooke smiled thinking of the girl. A few months ago if Millicent had asked her that she would've honestly had no idea. Now that she was living in Tree Hill Brooke was so glad that wasn't the case, and she was touched by Millicent's interest. "She seems to be doing great. Today was her first day at the high school."

"Oh that's exciting!" Millicent replied as she was folding clothes. "How about Peyton?"

Brooke took in a breath; that was a different story. To the brunette it was a mixture of different things….nervousness and recurring doubt, excitement, happiness. Most of all? There was love. There was so much love, and Brooke wondered if because she stood on the outside she really truly saw it. Peyton loved Jill like crazy to be able to do something like this. It didn't mean that she wasn't scared as hell. "I think everything's just so new right now, so she's really nervous but hiding it… trying to be strong for Jill, you know?"

Millicent nodded. Ever since she met Peyton she figured strength was a big part of her character. After learning bits and pieces of what she'd been through, Millie only believed it to be truer. She glanced out to the busy street on the beautiful sunny day to see the woman herself, walking purposefully towards the establishment. "Oh, wow. She's coming this way."

Brooke turned to see, sure enough, her very best friend walking through the doors, the bell chime sounding as proof. "Hey! What're you doing here? And how's Jill?"

Peyton flickered to her cousin and realized she had yet to hear from her. She ignored that stupid feeling in her stomach. Everything was fine, for Christ's sake. What was she to be worried about? She supposed she had to get used to this feeling. It made her heart pound. "She hasn't called me. But your mom's a bitch." Peyton announced, remembering why she came here in the first place.

Brooke raised her brows. She knew that already. "What happened?"

"She went to the recording studio and freaked out Mia who's M.I.A. and now I don't have an artist." Peyton left out the part with Lindsey on purpose.

Brooke exhaled. "I'm sorry, Peyton. I'll talk to her."

"Yeah well, it's either that or my fist talks to her face and that's going to be a much longer conversation."

Millicent tried not to laugh. How she longed to have that conversation with Victoria…maybe one day.

"I will, I'm sorry."

"Thank you. I'll see you at home, I gotta find Mia." Peyton stepped out on the sidewalk and reached into her purse for her phone. She hadn't heard from Jill since that morning and she had no idea how things were going. _Did Principal Turner even meet with her? Oh, God. What if he didn't meet with her because she wasn't with an adult? It was her fault. She should've went in. She's screwed up again._ To make up for it Peyton reached Jill's name and number in her contact list. _Wait. Should I call? I don't want to seem like a neurotic mother. _At that, Peyton almost slapped herself. _Did I just say Mom? Did I just think "Mom"? Oh, Jesus, what is my problem? _Peyton shook her head and told herself it was just the stress of losing Mia and decided not to call. She called anyway.

After waiting those long rings, Peyton realized she didn't note the time and that Jill's lunch break was most likely over by now. Sure enough, she heard Jill's voice on the other line. The machine.

_Hey it's Jill. Sorry I'm not around to talk to you. Leave a message. _

Peyton found herself smiling. She left the message quick and hung up before she said something corny. Satisfied, Peyton turned her focus back to her brand new act that was nowhere to be found: Mia. Where the _hell_ did she run off to?

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It began. No sooner did the ball move than did Jill have all those feelings rushing back. Anticipation and that rush of adrenaline that started in her chest and rushed to her toes…Jill hadn't touched a soccer ball since leaving New York. To say she was missing it wouldn't be accurate. Jill _craved it_. She longed for that rush and excitement, the intensity, the strategy, the freedom of running and never looking back. The players began to break. Gabby kept her eyes on Aaron and Eliza to Ron. Jill kept her eyes on Isaiah as he pushed the ball forward with his foot, propelling with every step. He was tall, strong, quick and smart. Jill figured out that Isaiah had outside experience…. perhaps he was a member of team on whatever leagues they had here.

Jill worked up her routine: keeping up her concentration and tuning out the rest of the world. She kept her eyes on the black and white shadows of the ball moving with agility at Isaiah's feet, moving back as he moved forward. The trick was to be resistant and persistent at the same time, to seem laid back but really have a thing or two up your sleeve. She wouldn't deny it. The guy was good. But just as Jill made her charge: Isaiah wasn't good enough.

Isaiah looked up to find Jill right up his alley; it's like she'd came out of nowhere. His feet and hers were in a battle of possession, with Jill bumping her shoulder into his chest. "Never took you to be aggressive." he said, with a tone of recognition as they were engaged for ball.

Jill smirked. She said what her father would always say. "It's more that I'm assertive." Before poor Isaiah blinked, Jill skillfully caught the ball with her back heel, and spun to shield and eventually break free. She propelled herself forward, dribbling left and right, leaving Isaiah in the dust.

Just as Jill hoped, it was like magic. From behind, Gabby read the play and ran forward, getting Jill's pass. Gabby watched as Jill moved to the open space. She laughed to herself. These boys would never learn. Crowding her, as Aaron and Eric were doing, meant more space for Michelle and Jill to occupy. Gabby passed quickly to Jill, who sent it along to Michelle.

Jill paced herself …she had to be patient and feel this new "team" out. She tried to position herself accordingly, watching as Michelle weaved back and forth. Ron was already on Jill, managing to squeeze past Eliza slightly. He won the ball, but Jill was a step ahead of him. Before Ron could manage to pass it forward to Eric, Jill intercepted like an unseen ghost. This time it was Jill advancing towards goal as her and Ron went at it.

"Something tells me I have to keep an eye on you." Ron told Jill in a thick accent as he tried to watch her intricate and widely impressive footwork.

"Good idea." Jill breathed, as she moved her feet in an expert dance. At first she decided that since she was technically new, she'd be nice. No way. She'd scare this junior back to study hall. "Might be too late." she said quickly. In a celebrated trick move that took her weeks to perfect, Jill moved her right foot over the ball, and then her left, like a ring, before pushing the ball forward past Ron entirely, whose intense concentration and desperate misstep caused him to trip and fall to the ground.

Jill didn't miss a beat, and before she knew it, it was her and the goalie: one on one. Ned was in the post, so by default had the best view of game play. And shit, this girl was good. He'd never seen footwork like that .She was really damn good, and she was charging toward him. He took a breath and braced himself. How humiliating would this be if he let one get by from the new girl? Then again…he hardly ever played goalie.

Jill's position was one she'd been in many times. Time slowed down and suddenly her eyes could see almost everything: the expression on Ned's face- mixture of _here we go _and _holy crap_; the criss-cross pattern of the goalie net if she looked hard enough. In those sacred, heart-stopping moments where she was so close it would only take just one kick, Jill contemplated. Should she show off with a fiery blast, or do a bit of trickery and humiliate Ned with a simple touch? Jill played the ball between her left and right foot as she weighed all her options. If she blasted, Ned would have to dive. If she wanted the simple touch, she'd have to think of a little something to have him on the floor-leaving Jill with an easy net. Jill skilled and passed the ball under her left heel, before bringing her right foot to shoot. Ned foolishly saw this as a moment of weakness and decided to charge. What he didn't' know was that Jill expected this when she decided to fake him out. But it was too late. As Ned ran forward, Jill expertly slid the ball to the left as Ned went to the right. There it was, the open net. Or at least, that's how Jill imagined it (today it was just an open gap between two orange cones).

Jill did what she was made for: scored the goal with a simple elementary kick near the post: too easy.

The twins and Michelle were wide eyed. _Holy Shit. _Did everyone just see that?

"Damn girl! That was crazy!"

"Totally awesome!"

"You _are _good." Michelle amended. The girl was on fire. "Really good."

Isaiah stood there dumbfounded. Jill approached him. "Don't get freaked out now." She said with a confident smirk.

"How long have you been playing! That was insane."

"My whole life."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Lucas saw the entire thing: from start to finish. He was speechless. Jill exploded into action, going from quiet and sly to loud and skillful. Even though Lucas knew very little about soccer, a blind man could see how talented this girl was. Jill was smart, smooth, wise, patient. Her feet were almost their own entity up and down the field- Jill was beyond graceful in her step. She was quick and witty, and surprisingly generous. Herself, Michelle, and the Woodson twins worked together like clockwork, and Lucas knew how important that was as a coach. But Jill stole the show completely without warning…what star quality. Lucas was blown away: he had no idea that Jill was so good. Lucas ignored the ache he felt in his chest when he admitted that.

Jill and the others ended up winning the game 4-2 with Michelle scoring two and Gabby scoring one. But the boys put up the fight, and eventually the game got so intense all other play was forgotten about as the majority of the gym class gathered around to watch the random scrimmage-some even recording the match on their cell phones. Needless to say, when the period was finished, Jill had a crowd of people complimenting her. Lucas couldn't help but smile watching her fit in so seamlessly. After a shrill blow of his whistle, he felt his cellphone go off and saw on the small screen that it was Lindsey calling.

"Hey." Lucas said, plugging his other ear to hear her. "What's up?" Normally she wouldn't call when Lucas was at work unless something was going on. Plus, she was supposed to be out with Haley.

"_Peyton is a bitch!" _

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The game was over and Jill was worn out; she had no idea how she was meant to face two more periods after this. After taking one long drink from her bottle of water, Jill picked up her backpack and decided to check her phone. It was horrible to be so addicted to technology, she knew. But hey, if she hadn't of checked she wouldn't of seen one missed call and one voicemail from Peyton.

_Hey, it's me. I just wanted to check up on you, see how you were… I didn't realize I missed your lunch break. I hope everything's okay! I'm in the middle of something kind of nuts that I have to tell you about later. Love you!_

Jill smiled to herself. She tried to remember the last time she heard a sweet voicemail. All she could remember was Erica, completely wasted telling her to come pick her up. Jill shook her head and wondered what ordeal Peyton had gotten herself into.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"_Peyton's a bitch!" _Is what Lucas heard from his normally classy girlfriend. He stood there scratching his brow. Wait what? Since when did this happen?

"Linds? I can't really hear you…" Lucas said lamely. He could hear her, perfectly well in fact. He just didn't feel like having this conversation.

_"I said Peyton's a bitch! I…oh my god!" _

That was bad. When Lindsey couldn't finish her sentences, she was pissed. "What happened?"

_"She hates me, Luke." _

Lucas sighed. He could never imagine Peyton hating somebody. Hating anybody really. Christ, she even forgave Ian Banks, the psychotic stalker who nearly killed her back in high school. (Even years later Lucas still couldn't believe that it actually happened. It was almost like a movie). Needless to say, he tuned out Lindsey's complaints, but only because he saw Jill walking towards him, her backpack slung over her shoulder. Lucas seized the opportunity. "Hey Linds, I gotta run and get these kids to their next class. But I'll be home in like an hour-we can talk then, okay? I'm sorry about what happened."

_"No, I'm sorry. I forgot you were subbing today. I'll talk to you later Luke." _

"Okay, bye." Lucas shut his phone closed and shoved it into his pocket before _I love yous_ were exchanged. "Hey Jill." Lucas said, almost timidly. He shook his head mentally. What was he timid for?

Jill had seen Lucas standing there and her full intention was to avoid him entirely and hope she could slip away. "Oh, hey." Jill realized they hadn't exchanged a word for the entire class period, save for when Lucas was calling attendance.

"I saw you playing out there, you're really amazing."

Jill smiled shyly. "Thanks."

"Yeah, no you were great. I wouldn't be surprised if half the kids watching put up their videos on YouTube."

Jill couldn't help but laugh slightly. "Ah, geez." A beat of awkward silence followed. God, Jill hated awkwardness. What was it with this town and awkwardness? She shuffled her feet.

"How's the school treating you?"

Jill was glad for some neutral ground. "Fine, so far. I think I'm going to talk to someone to change my foreign language from French to Spanish."

"That's a good idea." Lucas had forgotten Jill was nearly fluent in Spanish, and just as impressive, Jill knew quite a bit of Catalan.

"Yeah. The teachers are alright. Except, I have Campaña for Geometry."

Lucas flinched. "Ouch. I had him in sophomore year." Good old Mr. Campaña. He was still just as strict and allowed no room for error…still drank the same type of coffee in the morning as he waltzed in right when class started: not a minute early, not a minute late.

"Really? That's funny."

"Yeah." Lucas smiled softly at those memories: he remembered feeling disappointed that Peyton wasn't in his class. "He's hardly ever absent, by the way."

Jill raised her eyebrows. "Lovely."

Lucas laughed genuinely at her sarcasm, and that slight lilt resembling a shy English accent. But, remembering the real reason he started the conversation (well, being friendly was also his intention), Lucas got serious. "Look, I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry about the other night. At Nathan and Haley's."

Jill flinched. _Oh, God please don't talk to me about this. Please. Things were perfectly awkward enough, not to mention, you're at work. _"Oh…that's…that's okay."

"Not exactly the homecoming you probably pictured." Lucas lamented.

"It's fine."Jill insisted. "Free food."

Lucas laughed. So much like Peyton.

Jill watched him…she had a question she wanted to ask. "Peyton seemed kinda upset." _Jesus. Why did I just do that?_

Lucas took a breath and hesitated. Okay, now he was uncomfortable. Maybe this was a bad idea. "Yeah I know. That's part of why I was apologizing."

Jill only looked at him. "Well, I wasn't there."

Lucas nodded. And naturally, with that true statement, he only was led back to the events of the night before…the conversation with Peyton in the middle of Nathan and Haley's kitchen along with a running sink.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_Flashback next chapter:) The DC storyline takes LEAPS forward next chapter as well, so keep an eye out. This was just to see if Jill could stand on her own. Please review! I put a lot of effort and time into my stories! _


	6. Just Say You Love Me

**Othello...**_I love your reviews! Glad I'm pulling off the football references. It is my favorite sport, after all :) You'll see how Jill reacts in this chapter, and I think it's pretty realistic for who she is: I wouldn't consider Jill the Drama Queen type. __  
_

_Read 'till the end, it will knock you sideways! Plenty of LP for you all :) _

_Chapter Five_

Just Say You Love Me

_Peyton had barely been able to wash one dish before she heard Lucas' voice behind her. "Peyton."_

_ "What?" she snapped, rolling her eyes as she tried to concentrate on washing the plate in her hands, letting the warm soap cover her fingers. _

_ Lucas sighed. "Is everything okay?" _

_ Peyton gripped the plate in her hands harder as she swiped a rag across the counter surface. "Everything's fine." _

_ Lucas said nothing. He only stared at her, willing for Peyton to turn around. He found an unexplainable urge to see those beautiful green eyes of hers. "With Jill?" _

_ At that, Peyton turned on her heels. "Yes, everything's fine with Jill." She enunciated quite harshly. She looked into Lucas' eyes, and he seemed unfazed. "Why?" she asked, agitated and shrugging her shoulders. _

_Lucas opened his mouth but couldn't find words. For a moment the kitchen is quiet for them…the sink is turned off, the clock stopped ticking. Everyone is waiting. Just waiting. "I just…I mean…..Jesus Peyton, Jill just shows up here and you expect everyone not to blink an eye?" _

_ Peyton turned around, her lower back pressing against the counter. "Well, considering she's been here for only a few hours I did expect some sense of privacy, but apparently that's beyond you." _

_ Lucas ran his hand tiredly over his face. "I'm not trying to invade your privacy…"  
_

"_It sounds like you are." _

_ "I'm trying to be your friend!" Lucas yelled. "Is that beyond me? That I could possibly care for you and want to be there for you?" _

_ Peyton just stood there, feeling her heart ache. Of course it wasn't beyond him. This was too much for her. She couldn't deal with this. She felt her lips quiver, and her eyes screamed of so much hurt she knew Lucas could see. "Luke…" _

_ "Despite what you think, I do care about you." Lucas said truthfully, ignoring the way his heart was beating after hearing Peyton whisper his nickname. "Whatever's going on with Jill, I'll respect that you don't want to tell me. But if everything's not fine, you don't have to deal with it all alone, like I know you'll try. I know you, Peyton." _

_ Peyton didn't smile back. Instead, she walked over to Lucas, legs shaking, and stopped next to him right before the doorway. She ignored those invisible sparks flying even at their close proximity…where she could see the contours of his neck, his fine jaw line. His upturned nose she used to kiss, those deep blue eyes she could lose herself in. She's afraid to look at them now and see them burning so brightly. "Not anymore." Peyton quickly slipped out of the kitchen before Lucas had the chance to stop her._

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x_

"Well, I wasn't there."

Lucas blinked at the sound of Jill's voice right in front of him, as they stood on the green, lush grass behind the Whitey Durham Field House. "Right."

Jill felt a smirk play on her lips at the sight of Lucas' lost blue eyes. She stepped forward and spoke softly. "She was quiet last night, but she seemed alright this morning. She's got a mad day at the studio." Jill stood there, not knowing what to do or say. She ignored the fact that just a few years ago things were so different between her and Lucas: awkward silences were instead moments of honesty. There were those times when he'd take her to the River Court, or to a movie, or drive her around town when Peyton was too busy…where they'd have fun together, and Jill considered Lucas to be the big brother she never had. But now…Luke was only an acquaintance, someone she once knew but had changed so much: although Lucas could probably say the same thing about her. It was just…different. It sucked. "Well, I better get to class." she said, remembering she still had to change out of these gym clothes (and the damn jersey) before she was late to sixth period.

Lucas nodded, glad that the silence had ended. "Of course. Enjoy the rest of your day."

"I'll try." With that, Jill slung her backpack over her shoulder and began to walk off towards the Field House.

Before she was too far out of sight, Lucas couldn't help but call after her. "Jill!" Jill turned, squinting when her face hit the sunlight. "If you ever need anything, I'm usually in my office."

As much as Jill was set on ignoring Lucas as much as possible, it was hard to disregard his sincerity. She nodded only once. "Thanks." Before anything else could be said, Jill turned and jogged off, leaving Lucas to stand underneath the North Carolina sun. With dozens of students all about him, his broody gaze was focused on only one in particular.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jill was walking toward the locker room, wondering what the hell she was going to change into. She entered the room to a bunch of girls who had finished up changing and were headed towards the exit. Soon it was empty, just her and Michelle. It was kind of peaceful, the quiet. Michelle turned when she heard the sounds of footsteps.

"Hey!"

"You were amazing out there." Michelle said honestly. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't beyond her to pay credit where credit was due.

"Thanks!" Jill replied with an honest, shy smile. "So were you."

"We totally killed it, didn't we?"

"Totally." Jill came up next to Michelle and spun her combination lock that was on her own locker, and then turned to her new friend. "Boys never stood a chance. Seems like we're a good team."

"Yeah, you could say that." The two girls stood in a content silence for a moment, before Michelle snuck a glance at that unique, mysterious jersey Jill still wore. Michelle couldn't shake it out of her head that it said Bennett on the back of it. Considering Isaiah kept making it obvious to Michelle in hushed whispers whenever Jill was out of earshot, it was a big deal. But still. It seemed too coincidental to _not _be true. Jill had the same last name as David Bennett, who was a soccer legend. Jill was pretty damn good at soccer herself. "Can I ask you something?"

If Jill could assert anything about Michelle, it's that she was never timid and shy. Jill would bet good money on that. "Sure. Shoot."

"Are you related to him?"

Jill nearly froze. "Who?"

Michelle beckoned to the jersey. "David Bennett. The guy whose jersey you're wearing."

Jill looked to the floor, and as hard as she tried to fight it her cheeks turned red instantly. She shut her eyes, wishing she could be anywhere else: Spain. Prospect Park in Brooklyn with her little brother. "Um… I…" Jill looked up to meet Michelle's gaze, as bravely as she ever had. She opened her mouth; desperate for the courage she needed for this avoided confession. She opened her mouth, but no words came out. The universe had failed her.

Michelle gazed at her. She knew. She knew with the hesitation, the embarrassment. She knew with the desperation that shone so brightly through Jill's eyes. She knew. It was too powerful not to know. "Don't worry. I won't say a word. Michelle opened her locker and reached for a simple Tree Hill High tee shirt she kept from freshman year. "Here."

"Thanks." Jill answered meekly.

"Not a problem." Michelle looked genuine, big hearted then. Kind of like someone Jill felt like she could trust.

Their moment was broken by scattered laughter. Gabby and Eliza entered the locker room right then. "Michelle, what's taking you so long?" Gabby asked, before she noticed Jill. "Oh hey! Oh my God, good that you're here we were just talking about you." Gabby approached Jill and sat down on the bench in front of the row of raven blue lockers, Eliza in tow.

"Uh oh. Good or bad?"

"Good! Why would it be bad?"

"Good point."

"Was that Coach Scott you were talking to back there?" Gabby asked jovially.

"Oh, Jesus. Here we go." Michelle broke in sarcastically.

"Michelle, shut up." Gabby joked.

Jill laughed. "Yeah, I was talking to him."

"What about?"

Jill debated whether or not she should bring this up. Oh, what the hell. "I kind of know him."

Gabby was surprised. "Wait _know _him? Know him how?"

"Ew!" Eliza admonished. "Gabby, that's disgusting."

"Whoa chill!" Jill held out her hands and her cheeks got pink. "You have _no idea_ how wrong that sounds."

"Relax, it's a joke! No seriously, how do you know him? If you don't mind me asking." Gabby added for good measure. She leaned forward eagerly, and Eliza and Michelle had the same anticipation.

"He's my cousin Peyton's ex-boyfriend."

All of their eyes widened with huge grins. "No way!" Michelle exclaimed. She couldn't help but start cracking up in laughter.

"It's not _funny!_ It's awkward as fuck."

"Oh my God!" Gabby said with a smile. "Wait how long did your cousin and him go out?"

Jill shook her head, still embarrassed. "Can we not talk about this?" she asked shyly, pulling the new shirt over her head and gathering her bag.

"Why?" Gabby added quickly, "Is this awkward? I'm sorry." She pushed open a door, and the four girls went up a small flight of stairs and rounded a corner before entering the gym. Thankfully, it was nearly empty.

Still, Jill kept her eyes out for Lucas. "Nah, I just don't think Peyton would want me talking about this."

"Yeah, God Gabby. Personal much?" Michelle asked.

"Shut up Michelle, don't act like you weren't curious." Gabby said, playfully shoving her friend.

"Oh, I _am, _but I'm not about to ask Jill stuff like that."

"Well how else was I supposed to find out?" Gabby asked with a smile.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Peyton pulled up to the parking lot of the high school right as the clock struck three. The students came out in quick, grateful ways, welcoming a surprisingly warm sun. Through the shade of her favorite pair of sunglasses, Peyton awaited her cousin in the driver's seat of her car. Despite Peyton's best efforts, Peyton had not found Mia, _but _she got a text from her saying that she was alright, she just needed time to think. Peyton agreed to give her the day, but told Mia that they needed to meet in her office first thing tomorrow morning.

Now that it was semi-taken care of, Peyton could push all label troubles out of her mind and focus on her cousin. It wasn't long before Peyton saw Jill, chatting and laughing with two others. Peyton smiled somewhat in relief. "Hey!" Peyton greeted happily once Jill sat in the passenger's seat. "How was your first day?"

"It was good!" Jill replied, smiling at Peyton's enthusiasm. "Met some people."

Peyton paused, gripping the steering wheel. She raised her eyebrows playfully. "And…?" she drawled with hints of a Southern lilt.

Jill shrugged, shifting under Peyton's gaze. She clutched her backpack tightly with one hand while the other reached back to clip on her seatbelt. "And…you know."

Peyton looked over Jill: she was wearing a Tree Hill High tee instead of the fancy blouse Brooke had given her that morning. "Wait. Why are you wearing different clothes? Didn't I give you that jersey you always wear?"

Jill didn't answer.

Peyton sighed. The excitement could only last so long, she supposed. "What happened?"

Jill paused, trying not to laugh at the absurdity that she'd screwed up in the span of eight hours. "You gave me the wrong jersey."

Peyton frowned. Jill was putting it in a sort of state-the-obvious contest kind of way, and it worried her. "What do you mean?"

Jill dutifully unzipped her bag and brought out the infamous jersey, unfolding it and holding it close to her cousin's face. Peyton studied it carefully: the threads, the design, the font of _Bennett_ on the back, plus the number. Peyton's mind flashed to the other day when she picked up Jill at the airport: it _wasn't _the same jersey. Which could only mean one thing. Peyton inhaled and put her hand over her mouth. How could she make such a careless mistake? What could've she been thinking of that morning? "Oh, honey. I'm so sorry! What did you do?"

Jill shrugged, placing her bag on the floorboard of the car, between her legs. "Went with it."

Peyton shook her head at her own stupidity. The roar of the comet's engine filled the surrounding air. "I can't believe I did that!"

Jill couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, seriously. The two jerseys look _so _different. Not to mention the last names are like, night and day."

Peyton playfully shoved her arm. "They both start with B, okay?" she pulled out of the parking lot and into the main road.

"Alright, I take it back. _I _was the moron for not realizing it when I walked out of the freaking bathroom. Some guy spilled soda on the purple shirt." Jill turned to Peyton, who'd just turned on the radio to the classic rock station. "How mad do you think Brooke's going to be?"

"Hard to say. Brooke isn't the biggest cleaner… and she loves her clothes."

Jill paused. "Okay, lets not go home."

The comet was filled with laughter and stories of Jill's very new friendships and how together they "kicked the guys' asses" during the soccer scrimmage. That was just about it.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Later that night, Jill was buried in her chemistry textbook, trying to finish up some homework. She was curled up on the couch in the living room. It was nice and quiet since Brooke had to work late at the boutique. Jill looked up from the textbook when the words started to gel together and give her a headache, and she exhaled in frustration. "Chemistry is the bane of my existence."

"Why don't you take a little break?" Peyton suggested gently, bringing Jill a glass of iced tea from the kitchen and joining her on the couch.

"Eh, I figured I'd just stop when the pizza came and my break would just be dinner."

Peyton watched Jill with a loving gaze, noticing how Jill's light blonde eyebrows would furrow and she'd get this crease in her forehead when she was focused. Peyton couldn't help but notice how Jill kept nibbling on the pencil between her lips. Jill was always a hard worker; Peyton had always seen that about her. Everything Jill tackled, she gave it 110%, no matter what. When it came to soccer, Jill was ridiculous. She was up and running three times a week, and would go for at least four miles. Peyton remembered having to take Jill to various practices and soccer games when she visited New York City as a teenager.

Jill noticed Peyton staring and gave her a weird look, curling her lips in a coy smile. "What?"

Peyton raised her arms in defense. "Nothing. I'm just…. really happy that you're adjusting so well. I'm proud of you."

Jill felt a vibration come from her pocket. She reached in to grab her IPhone and saw that it was a text from DC:

_Did you ask Peyton yet?_

Jill kept her face expressionless and put the phone on the coffee table. She smiled back at Peyton. "I'm proud of me, too." Jill admitted honestly, and she couldn't remember the last time she admitted that to herself. It was so typical to never give herself enough credit for anything, really. Yes, she took care of her brother because their father was too busy hitting the bottle, but Jill did what she had to do to survive. She never thought it a grand thing…it was just what she had to do. Thinking about that in too much detail led to Jill getting emotional, and she didn't want that.

So Jill decided to pay attention to DC's text. In truth, Jill had been plagued with it ever since DC brought it up a few nights ago. Of course Jill wanted her brother to be with her, but it was complicated. That didn't mean that she couldn't give it a try, because if she didn't try, then she was most definitely not going to see DC as often as she needed to. Jill suddenly got very, very nervous: a rare occurrence for somebody so confident and brave. "Peyton, can I talk to you about something?"

Peyton was suddenly put on alert. She sat up straighter and put a comforting hand on Jill's knee. Here we go: teenage angst at its finest. Remembering what she went through at Jill's age, Peyton figured she could handle _this _storm. "Of course. You can talk to me about anything. What's up?" Peyton's mind raced with what it could be: _Did Jill have trouble adjusting and was just hiding it? Did she miss New York? Was she running into things at school? _Peyton's thoughts were cut short when the doorbell rang. "Damn, hold that thought. Pizza's here." In a way, Peyton was relieved as she patted her jeans pocket to make sure she had cash. This way her and Jill could have some quiet time and _really _talk with the comfort of food to ease any nervousness Jill was feeling.

Peyton opened the door not to a pizza delivery, but to none other than Lucas, his hands awkwardly stuck in his pockets. "Hey, Peyton." Lucas looked over Peyton's shoulder to see Jill curled up on the couch. Jill waved from behind her chemistry textbook.

Peyton responded by stepping through the threshold and outside to the front, throwing Jill an apologetic glance over her shoulder. She then faced Lucas, shutting the door behind them loudly, cutting his access into anything _hers._ "Hi."

Lucas stood there, unsure of what to do. Peyton just slammed the door in face…except she didn't? "Can I come in?"

"No, I don't think that's a good idea." Peyton answered, protectively wrapping her arms around herself. Lucas knew what that meant, and hopefully this time he would take a damn hint. Nothing says _I don't want you here_ by keeping the man out of her house and having the conversation outside.

Lucas huffed irritably. In truth, he came to see Peyton after what Lindsey had told him when he got home that night. He just wanted to straighten things up for her, prove to her that Peyton's return to Tree Hill didn't mean as nearly as much to him as Lindsey thought it did. "Jesus Peyton, I ask Jill a few questions at dinner, trying to make her comfortable and I'm some kind of monster?" In Luke's eyes, he had already sincerely apologized to Jill for his behavior, and she said it was fine. Jill was a big girl, she could advocate for herself.

Peyton's eyes widened and Lucas immediately regretted bringing up the subject. She looked like she was ready to claw his eyes out, like a Mama Wolf protecting her pup. _Yup, she's got this thing down_, Lucas thought to himself somewhat masochistically. "You know what?" Peyton asked, venom seething from her throat and rage dripping from the forest green of her eyes. "What I don't get is why you would _insist_ on pressing the issue about Jill's father when you _know_ what he was like when we were dating!"

Lucas frowned at Peyton when he tried to think about visiting New York City with Peyton and naturally seeing Jill in translation. He could picture Jill's beautiful home, he could picture her room…. but whenever he tried to draw up Jill's dad he just drew a blank. "Peyton, he was never there."

"Exactly! Don't you get it? He was _absent_, Lucas. He was never around and when he was, you wished he wasn't."

Peyton had a point there, but Lucas wasn't about to admit that. There was something about this woman that made his blood boil, yet made his heart melt at the same time. But those latter feelings were good and buried. Or at least, that's what Lucas repeated to himself over and over, even in his sleep. "I already apologized to Jill for what I said earlier, and she accepted my apology."

Peyton nodded. "Ok, ok fine." She stared at Lucas pointedly, angrily pointing between the both of them. "So what is this then? What are you _doing here?" _Peyton enunciated carefully, making sure Lucas' dense brain understood every word she said.

Lucas crossed his arms and he watched as Peyton went on the defense. Just like that, control of the exchange slipped from her fingers and now Lucas had the lead. "Did you tell Lindsey that you don't like her?" In truth, Lucas _really_ wanted to see how Peyton and Jill were doing, but he couldn't lead with that so he came up with this instead.

Peyton slumped her shoulders and resisted the very pressing urge to roll her eyes. She recalled once asking Lucas in high school if he ever actually defended the person he was dating, and she supposed he had finally learned a thing or two in that respect. Too bad Peyton was finding it awfully annoying. What did it matter to him if she didn't like Lindsey? In her opinion, it should matter a hell of a lot more if Karen didn't like her. But Peyton couldn't picture Karen disliking anyone except Dan, but everyone hated Dan. _Peyton, focus_ she told herself. "Kind of." Peyton admitted honestly, getting ready for Luke's tirade about manners…. she couldn't wait to call him out and yell _hypocrite. _

Lucas sighed and looked at Peyton as if she were a different person. "What the hell, Peyton? All Lindsey has done is been nice to you."

Peyton huffed a breath of air and she felt chills racing up and down her body. "Ok, in case you haven't noticed, I have a few other things to deal with right now, _first and foremost _taking care of my 16 year-old cousin who ran away from home. Don't you realize how huge that is? I've _never_ been responsible for anyone but myself and I have to provide for both of us now. Not to mention, I have a huge, empty office for a label with no artists, so providing is going to be a little difficult!" Peyton heaved a huge breath, her heart pounding in her chest.

Lucas stared at her, and all he got out of that was: "Oh, do you mean the label _Lindsey _recommended I help you with?"

Peyton stared at him and felt her knuckles curling into fists. She wanted to lay it out on him. She wanted to tell him, _actually_ all you did was provide the office space that I didn't even want from you. It was Peyton's business, her recording artists, and Brooke's backing. Lindsey didn't know _shit_ about what it took to run a label, and Peyton was pretty sure Lindsey only asked Lucas to help out as some weird recon move to make sure that Lucas still didn't have feelings for his ex-flame. Lucas was oblivious to Peyton's hardships and how worried she was about Jill. Oh, Peyton could _strangle him. _How dare he? "Ok, I can not do this right now." If Lucas didn't cut the shit in the next few minutes, Peyton was going to lose it.

"You have to apologize to her."

"Luke, Mia is missing, OK? Brooke's mom is _killing me; _I quit my job, I moved back home, and for Christ's sake, Jill is _living _with me. I CAN NOT do this right now. What fucking part of that do you not understand?"

Lucas sighed and gazed Peyton over. She had dark circles under her eyes and looked stressed out, and most of that was probably his fault. "Can I help you?" he asked gently, afraid she'd blow up at him. .

"No…no you can not help me: that is the last thing that I want." Peyton's eyes met Lucas' and all he's thinking is he's glad to see the old Sawyer fire in there somewhere. Peyton exhaled in frustration and ran her fingers through the curls that Lucas used to bury his hands in when they were intimate. _Wait, what_? _Why am I thinking about that right now?_ Peyton knew that angry Lucas always used to turn her on and there was a part of her that wanted to grab him and kiss this argument away. This was the part where Peyton had to remind herself that she had an impressionable teenager in the house and she couldn't just drag Lucas in by his tee shirt for intense, angry sex. "Go home to your girlfriend, Luke." Peyton managed to speak when her heart calmed down, even though it truly hurt her. "Please."

"Okay." Lucas answered, before turning back without another word and heading to his car.

Peyton was left to watch him leave, reminding herself to take a few deep breaths and composing herself before going back into the house.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Ok. Jill would admit it: she abandoned her chemistry homework and paid close attention to the front door so she could hear what Peyton and Lucas were arguing about. She convinced herself she wasn't being nosy: nosy would be parking her ass right behind the window and looking out at them. No, Jill was way too suave for that. The argument got pretty loud anyway.

"_So what is this then? What are you doing here?"_

Jill couldn't help but laugh at Peyton's tone, getting a little giddy on the couch. She couldn't help it; chemistry was so boring…Jill needed some excitement in her life that had nothing to do her. OK, well that first part about her dad did have a lot to do with her, but Jill blocked that part out for her sanity. Jill couldn't hear Lucas that well, but Peyton she heard loud and clear.

"_Luke, Mia is missing….Jill is living with me. I CAN NOT do this right now. What fucking part of that do you not understand?" _

"Damn." Jill muttered, and she couldn't help but smile to herself. Truth is, she was miffed that Lucas brought up all that shit about her father in front of everyone. But what was she supposed to do about it? She barely knew Lucas anymore. "Go Peyton." Jill said. How she wished DC were here: they would _so _enjoy this together. Hell, Brooke even. As Jill rapidly texted her brother about what was going on, Jill had one thought in her head…

… _Cousins fucking rule. _

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

When Peyton came back into the house, Jill had sweetly set up the table for dinner: napkins were folded, silverware was placed, plates were served, and glasses were filled with water. Jill covertly left out another bottle of _La Rioja, _figuring Peyton would want some after that little spat.

"Sorry." Peyton apologized, instantly feeling better at seeing what Jill set up. She could really get used to having this girl around. The house was already filled with so much more light and joy. Peyton quickly washed her hands and sat down at the dinner table. "Thanks for setting this up."

"Anytime." Jill sat across from Peyton and blotted the grease from her pizza slice with a napkin, an old habit. Jill poured Peyton a glass of wine expertly and Peyton laughed. "So what was _that_ about?"

Peyton rolled her eyes. "How much of it did you hear?"

"Not a lot, I put music on." Jill lied, almost like second nature at this point. Well, at least for little white lies like this one. Jill wanted to see what Peyton would reveal…she knew that Peyton loved her like crazy and would protect her until the end…but it was still nice to hear.

"Just Lucas asking me if I told Lindsey that I didn't like her."

"Why does he care?" Jill asked, munching on her pizza. It actually was pretty good with such big shoes to fill.

"That's what I wanted to know." Suddenly Peyton remembered that Jill wanted to tell her something. "Forget about Lucas. What did you want to tell me?"

Jill considered what that would look like: _Thanks for taking me in a few days ago indefinitely, can my brother come along, too?_ It was clear that Peyton was stressed out with Mia and didn't need anything else on her plate at the moment. Jill was certain DC was safe with Gerry and Suzie, it was just the distance that was tough. DC and Jill had never been separated like this: they always faced big changes together. "Oh…. don't worry about that." Jill resolved that she'd have to talk to Peyton about it another time when there weren't any blonde, broody distractions around. "We can talk about it later."

"Jill."

"What? Peyton, it's fine." Jill said between bites of her pizza, "Can't talk: eating."

Peyton rolled her eyes. "Jill, what's going on? Tell me."

"Nothing!" Jill said, smiling. "I promise it doesn't need immediate attention." Not a lie. "We can talk about it some other time."

"Can I at least know what it's about?" At Jill's flinch, Peyton reminded herself not to come on too strong. "Ok, fine."

"I just have to say that you and Lucas have some _serious_ sexual tension." Jill mentioned, remembering what Brooke told her about heavy silences. Jill saw Peyton's face getting _red_ with sudden embarrassment: _jack pot. _Peyton was so cute when she was embarrassed and crushing.

"What? No we don't."

"Oh please. That arguing outside _screamed_ sex."

Peyton's eyes widened. Jill wasn't so little anymore, was she? "It did not!"

Jill laughed. "Oh yes it did. Screamed sex loud and clear!"

Just for a second, Peyton's stress was forgotten about in her honest laughter.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Isaiah Wyatt trudged up the stairs to his room after dinner with his family. He threw his backpack onto the floor by his desk chair and took off his shoes. He was finally in his own space where he could clear his head. He needed silence and privacy to be able to figure this whole Jill thing out. Ever since he saw the girl's jersey and heard Coach Scott call her full name on attendance, Isaiah knew something was up. It was in his nature to find out _what_ before the curiosity burned him alive. Isaiah opened to Google on his laptop, his cursor floating in the search box…he knew the best place to start was with a known public figure, so why not start with one of the most famous soccer players in the world? God bless the internet. Isaiah quickly typed **"David Bennett" **in the search box and hit enter. Google displayed the hits rapidly, and Isaiah hit the Wikipedia article. The page opened and Isaiah skipped to the **"Personal Life" **section of the article. He read the following:

_**David Bennett, Sr. married journalist Maggie Sawyer in New York City in 1990, and they had two children: Jill Sophia (b. 1996) and David Christopher (b.2001). They have since divorced. **_

Isaiah's jaw nearly dropped the floor and he nearly broke his mouse in half. "Oh, _shit!" _he exclaimed to himself. Isaiah rapidly scrolled down the article to read more, and his eyes bulged at David Bennett's net worth. Isaiah grabbed his cell phone and dialed Michelle.

"_Why are you calling me?" _she asked in the same snarky way as was their usual rapport.

"Michelle! I was right!"

"_Right about what?" _

Isaiah could sense the wariness in Michelle's voice but was too hype to pay any attention to it. "Jill is related to David Bennett! Michelle, she's his fucking daughter! I knew it!" Isaiah could barely contain his excitement….he went to school with a celebrity.

"_What are you talking about?" _

"It's true. I looked it up on Wikipedia." Isaiah quickly opened another window and did an image search, hoping by the grace of God he'd find a blurry snapshot of Jill somewhere for proof.

"_Are you fucking kidding? Don't believe everything you read on there." _

"I'm telling you girl, it's _true. _I can't believe this!" Isaiah's heart skipped a few beats when he found a blurry photograph of David Bennett, Sr. being honored for the honorary FIFA award, Jill and a younger boy by his side…the photo was recent. "Oh shit, he was given an honorary award from FIFA! This is crazy."

"_Isaiah. You're such a creeper. Stop stalking." _

"How are you not as excited as I am about this?" Isaiah wondered, before his eyes widened. "Did you _know _already?" There was a long silence on the other end of the line. "Michelle!"

_Michelle sighed wearily. She knew it was going to come out soon enough, but this soon. "Yeah; Jill told me earlier today after Gym. But oh my God Isaiah, you CAN NOT tell anybody about this. Jill swore me to secrecy, and it was pretty uncomfortable for her to admit. If we let this leak Jill will never trust me with anything again. If you open your mouth and spill, even to Jill or the twins…I'll never talk to you again. I will personally hunt you down and kill you." _

"Yes Master."

"_Isaiah!" _

"Alright, alright! I won't tell anyone, I promise. " Isaiah ran his hand through his brown hair. Now that he got Michelle on the phone, he was going to do what he could to keep her there. "This is a first for Tree Hill. Dude, David Bennett is my _hero_."

"_I know." _

Isaiah clicked on a link from Forbes and he gulped. "Damn!"

"_What?" _

"Jill's rich!"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_One week later_

Jill walked through the hallways of the high school with a million and one thoughts running through her head. This week had been crazy with work as the school year was really getting underway, and Jill had been so busy that she didn't get a chance to talk to Peyton about her brother….she had to somehow isolate Peyton so there weren't any distractions and she could get an honest answer. As if it was fate, Jill got a text message from Peyton at that exact moment. Just like that, Jill's plan went off in motion without her having to lift a finger: she'd just gotten a text from Peyton:

_Don't get overwhelmed! Nice deep breathes. Thinking about you, love you! _

Jill smiled softly: leave it to Peyton to brighten her day with just the little details. She quickly typed and sent a reply:

_I love you too! Do you want to get dinner tonight? We can catch up!_

Peyton shot back a "sounds perfect" and it was settled. Jill would ask about DC coming to stay with them tonight at the restaurant. Brooke wouldn't be there, there would be no Lucas to distract Peyton…it would just be them. Jill refused to think of the possibility that Peyton would say no…. she couldn't do that. How could she possibly keep brother and sister apart?

Jill pushed the issue out of her head when she walked across the quad, seeing her friends waiting for her and she smiled. Over the past week all the girls had gotten closer and closer: it was like they'd known each other for years instead of just a few weeks. Jill hadn't opened up to them completely yet, and she had her reasons for that. "Know what bothers me?" Jill began, slamming her lunch tray on the table. Michelle and the twins looked Jill's way warily.

"Well hello to you too."

Jill ignored it. "There's no girls soccer team here. I mean, there's basketball: girls and boys, volleyball: girls and guys, tennis, but no soccer. What is that?"

"Oh, I know." Gabby recognized, taking a sip of her water bottle. "It sucks."

"It's bullshit." Michelle broke in. "All it is here is basketball, basketball, basketball. There are other sports too, you know."

Jill listened to her friends' complaints; all the while her inspiration was running rampant. Women _were _underrepresented in sports, and when they weren't, they were being discriminated against. If they wanted representation as simple as a high school's girls soccer team…. they had to get it themselves. "…OK." Jill put her hand up and the conversation silenced. "I have a kind of really crazy idea. You guys say you'd kill for a soccer team here, right?" The table nodded. Jill smiled: the wheels were quickly spinning. Once she set her mind to something, she never stopped until she got it. "What if _we_ made one?"

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"A little over a week down, P. Sawyer." Brooke commended, sitting next to her best friend, on the floor of her boutique and eating lunch. Brooke was pulling ready to pull her hair out trying to get this C/B Botique up and running: it was bad enough that she had Victoria breathing down her neck. "I'm proud of you. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty good, so far." Peyton admitted. "I'm a little worried about Jill: she seemed really distant this past week, and I'm not sure if she's stressed out with school or if it's something else."

"Could be the stress." Brooke offered. "I wouldn't worry too much, as long as she's sleeping and eating. We can't expect every week to be perfect, now can we?"

"Of course not. I just wish she'd check in with me so I know what's going on with her." Just then, Peyton got a text from Jill and relayed it back to Brooke: "She wants to meet for dinner tonight to catch up." Peyton seemed relieved and a smile spread across her face…she truly hoped it wasn't silly to be worrying about things like this….but her instinct was telling her something was off.

"There you go!" Brooke exclaimed. She patted Peyton's leg gently, finishing off her lunch. "Everything's going to be fine. Give yourself more credit."

Peyton smiled softly before showing Brooke the adjustments she'd made to her design sketches. Brooke had great ideas, she just had trouble executing them visually. "What do you think of this?"

Brooke looked over the design carefully and her eyes sparkled. "I LOVE it!" Brooke practically yelled in her true fashion. She gave Peyton a highly exaggerated kiss on the cheek and Peyton simply laughed.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jill's table sat in silence before Michelle spoke first. "…That's actually a really good idea."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Oh my God, just imagine. It would be sick if we could get that going."

"It _would _be really awesome." The twins agreed. "But where would we start? Who would coach us?"

Jill said nothing. She hadn't thought that far. "Well, I figured we could definitely ask Tina to be goalkeeper, and the rest we could just scout around…once we have a team, I could go talk to my cousin's best friend; she's a designer and could help us with possible uniform ideas…"

"What about funding?"

"Well, the school would pay for it, no? Or at least provide the backing we would need to start fundraising. I figure if we could gather enough information to present to Principal Turner, he could make an informed decision…. I don't know, am I crazy? Michelle, you would tell me." Jill was suddenly feeling more inspired than she had in months. There were many things in NYC that put a damper on that inspiration she always carried around.

"You're not crazy. I think if we seriously sat down and made a plan, it could work. I think the first step would be drafting up a proposal for Principal Turner so we could get his support, and then he could advise us on how to approach the Athletic Department."

Jill's interest peaked….she wondered if it would be too weird if she asked for Luke's help….

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jill and her friends left lunch with the begginnings of a solid plan to introduce a girls soccer team to THH. The school day went as normal and Jill was really starting to feel the place out and it was much less foreign than when she arrived. After all, it was just school. Jill and her friends got together with almost everyone from that gym period and played another scrimmage after school, and Jill once again swept everyone up. The late afternoon came to a close with Gabby and Eliza leaving with their mother, and Michelle and Jill walking to TRIC, so Jill could introduce Michelle to Peyton.

"Isaiah was acting so weird at the scrimmage." Jill began, walking side by side with Michelle, steps away from TRICs entrance. "He kept staring at me like I was famous or something."

Michelle giggled nervously before looking over at Jill. "Yeah…about that….Isaiah knows."

Jill stopped short in her tracks. "You told him?" Jill asked, praying that it wasn't true. She had trusted Michelle with this, and it was imperative that no one knew.

"No, no I didn't I swear." Michelle replied firmly. "The idiot creepily looked up your dad on Google, and he called me and told me that your name was in the Wikipedia article."

Jill raised her brows, momentarily stunned…she didn't see that coming. Frankly, it felt like a slap in the face…instead of asking her respectfully like Michelle did, Isaiah went behind her back to the Internet? "Wow….this isn't good."

"I know it sounds _really_ shady, and believe me I already chastised him for this and threatened to kill him if it got out."

"For all I know, Isaiah could have posted it all over school by now."

"No, he wouldn't do that, I promise you." Michelle replied honestly. "I've known Isaiah since we were young kids: he'd never expose you like that, especially if he was sworn to secrecy….he's honorable that way."

Jill took a deep breath: _benefit of the doubt_. "If you say so. At least I'm not going on blind faith."

"I hope you're not mad."

"Nah…" Jill answered honestly. "I'd rather Isaiah find out than anyone else. Besides, he'd appreciate it the most I think." Michelle laughed as the two girls went up the staircase to TRIC's back entrance. The two girls walked into the currently empty bar and club. "So this is TRIC."

Michelle whistled in appreciation. "Nice. So this is where Peyton works?"

Jill nodded. She motioned to an office behind part of the bar. "That's her office right over there." Jill was proud to say Peyton was currently kicking life's ass. As the girls crept closer to the office, they heard yelling, and looked at each other warily, staying on the outside of the door, but unfortunately every angry exchange was heard.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Peyton sat in her empty office drawing random little things and waiting for Jill so they could go to dinner. Peyton had such an off day today…from her preoccupations, to the fact that she decided to visit her old house. Peyton met a teenage girl who was staying there, and the room was totally different except for one, tiny, heart wrenching detail. Peyton looked up from her drawings when she heard footsteps, and she smiled thinking it was Jill who could always cheer her up. But instead it was Lucas, who she hadn't seen since she they had that little quarrel outside her house.

"I saw your light on." Lucas began, making sure strides towards her. "It isn't that surprising, I mean I know how hard you work." Lucas sat down in the chair across from Peyton's desk. Lucas watched her for a moment…she looked tired, seemed so sullen and worrisome. It worried him in return. "You know…you haven't been yourself lately, Peyton. At least, not the Peyton I remember."

Peyton stared at him. _Oh, you mean the Peyton that was madly in love with you? _"I haven't been that Peyton in three years, Luke."

Lucas sighed. "Look I know…I know that before I may have seemed a little too forward. It's just that…we were such good friends before all this. So you might get mad but I'm gonna ask you anyway: what's going on?" One look into those soulful blue eyes and Peyton knew Lucas was truly sincere this time around.

Peyton placed down her pen, took a breath and looked Lucas straight on. "I went by my old house today. There's a teenage girl living there now, but she kept my closet door. You know that door? The one that said, _True Love Always_…._always, _Lucas. That's what we were supposed to have, until you showed up in LA three years and ago and ambushed me…" It was too late to cover it up now: it had been put out in the open, blown up as it could not be held in any longer. There was only so much Lindsey and Lucas that Peyton could take. She _had _to know that Lucas was going to respond to this…she just didn't know how.

"If by 'ambushed' you mean, _proposed _to you?" Ok then: Lucas was being Angry and Defensive Lucas. Still, the snide and hurt in his voice made Peyton even angrier…she didn't have to worry about Jill being on the other side of the door this time.

"Oh, yeah: out of the blue! A proposal that was driven by some…insecurity that I've _never_ been able to understand." It was true: she hadn't. One moment Lucas had been talking about them not talking as much as they used to, but he wanted to go ahead and put a ring on her finger? Peyton knew deep down that Lucas was only doing it because he was afraid he would lose her…but she didn't want to be lost.

"Insecurity?" Lucas scoffed and leaned forward in his chair. Peyton could see the way his chest heaved with anger through his shirt and his neck was getting flooded with color like it did when he was mad. "Let me tell you how you get _always_ Peyton: when a man asks you to marry him, you say yes. You don't say no and call him insecure."

"I never said no!" Peyton yelled, before taking a deep breath to calm herself. Old wounds had slowly been tearing open before getting ripped with a sharp knife, as Peyton recalled that fateful day in a Los Angeles hotel room. Peyton heard her voice breaking and there was nothing that she could do about it. "I said that I loved you, and that I _did _want to marry you someday. God Luke, I wanted you so bad…but you gave up on us."

Lucas sprang up from the chair and anger, _hurt_ blazed a trail through those beautiful baby blues. "I gave up on us?"

"Yes!"

"By proposing, I gave up on us?"

Peyton's fingers were shaking with rage: he didn't get it. She pushed up from her chair on shaky legs and walked in the other direction just to get some distance between them. "No, by not waiting you gave up on us, and you know that's the truth!"

"That's great, Peyton!" Lucas yelled loudly, angrier than she'd ever seen him. He pointed an accusatory finger at her and Peyton knew why: Lucas needed someone to blame because he couldn't handle putting that devastating breakup on himself. "You want to talk truth? Let's tell the truth…"

"Ok." Peyton breathed somewhat in relief. Maybe then she' d tell him that she was so in love with him that it hurt her. That she wanted to grab him and kiss him again, hold him, slap him, cry, laugh, cry some more. How could you love somebody and hate them in equal measure?

"YOU gave up on ME!" Lucas screamed. "That's why you didn't say yes: you didn't think I could do it. You didn't think I could get my novel published. Maybe because you didn't care, because it wasn't about you or what you wanted."

Peyton looked at him in disbelief, not comprehending the stupidity that was coming out of his mouth. What happened to the Lucas she fell in love with? Her eyes burned with tears and she had reached her last straw. "If that's the truth, if I _never _cared," Peyton reached over and grabbed one of her copies of _An Unkindness of Ravens_, "then how come every time I see this STUPID book," Peyton collected all of the books in her hands in anger…"I buy it every stupid fucking time, Luke?" She saw him standing there smugly and reached her breaking point: she didn't tear them apart…he did. Peyton began throwing the books at Lucas and he dodged them before he got clocked in the face with it. "You said I was GREAT! You said I could be GREAT!" her voice broke at the last part and the repressed tears started falling from her eyes. She barely noticed as Lucas was dodging the books yet simultaneously walking towards her. Her heart was pounding. "You said we were DESTINED to be together: you said it to the world, you said it to me and I wish you_ never _had because you didn't mean a fucking word of it!" Peyton had ran out of books, and was out of breath. She placed her palm over mouth to stop the tears. Lucas was standing a foot away from her, breathing harshly. If she wanted him in her arms, all she had to do was reach.

"Peyton…" He ran a hand down her arm. _What was he doing?_ All he could think about suddenly was shoving her against the wall and kissing the hell out of her to take her pain away. He could just picture her pain melting away into love as she embraced him, stripped bare for him…the anger running through his veins was melting into the passion he always carried for her.

Peyton backed away from his touch like she'd been burned. "Don't." When Lucas reached again, Peyton shoved him hard in the chest. "Get out." Lucas raised his hands in defeat and backed off.

"Fine, I'll go." Lucas turned for the door. It was probably for the best that he put some distance between them before he became the guy that cheats on his editor girlfriend with an old flame.

"You know what? I want to pay rent." Peyton declared shakily, still crying. "I don't know how I'm going to but I'll figure it out…whatever _this _is….I don't feel right about it."

Lucas turned back to her. "It's called me being nice to you."

"It needs to stop."

"Fine, maybe you're right." Lucas snarled, before storming out.

Peyton was left to catch her breath and cry.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jill and Michelle looked at each other in complete silence. They had just borne witness to a rough screaming match between Peyton and Lucas, but Michelle only knew Lucas as "Coach." Things just got _really _awkward. Lucas stormed out of the office and Michelle and Jill jumped in surprise….Lucas took no notice of either of them.

"I'm really sorry…." was what Jill offered, feeling her cheeks burning up.

"Don't worry about it. It's not like you knew they would be fighting like this."

"Yeah." Suddenly Jill's joke about sexual tension the other night wasn't so funny anymore. Jill motioned to Peyton's office. "I think I'm going to…"

"Yeah, of course." Michelle assured her, putting her backpack on. "Maybe another time." Michelle waved goodbye to her friend and bolted to the stairwell.

"Great." Jill muttered to herself. She had just scared off a new friend. She took a deep breath before opening the door to Peyton's office. She was sitting facing away from her. "Hey." Jill said softly, unsure of what to do…she decided to walk slowly towards her cousin: she had never seen Peyton like this before.

Peyton harshly wiped the tears from her face and turned around to face Jill. "Hey Jillie."

"Are you OK?" Jill was keeping her distance on purpose and Peyton hated it.

"I'm fine, honey. I promise." Peyton tried her best to smile but Jill saw right through it. Peyton got up from her desk and grabbed her jacket and purse. "Ready to go?"

"Oh, yeah. Do you still want to? I mean, if you're not feeling up to it…"

The last thing Peyton wanted to do was put Jill aside for some stupid nonsense with Lucas. From now on, Jill took priority no matter what. Peyton had no time for stupid games. "No, no I want to. I've really been looking forward to this."

At this, Jill seemed to relax. "Me too." They both headed out the door once the office was closed up for the night. Neither of them mentioned the fight for both their sakes.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Peyton took Jill to her favorite restaurant by the water. They got a table for two by the window, and they settled into light conversation...small talk and the like: how Mia was now ready to record an album, how Jill was settling into school and the friends she had made thus far. It wasn't until the main course was brought to the table that Jill decided to broach the subject of her brother. She took a sip of water for some courage. Damn, what she would give for some of Peyton's liquid courage right about now.

"So…I wanted to ask you something." Jill began bravely. Her knees began to shake underneath the table and she mentally commanded them to cut it out. It was unlike her to be nervous.

"Anything." Peyton reminded her, watching how Jill had trouble looking her in the eyes. Suddenly, she realized it: this is what Jill wanted to talk her about last week before they were interrupted. Peyton's heart beat fast: _was Jill unhappy here? Did she want to go home?_ Oh, God. She wasn't sure if she could handle that.

"Well…the thing is…my brother _really_ wants to come live with us." Jill got out in one breath, her knees shaking furiously. She was convinced she was going to throw up any second now. "I know that may seem like _a lot _to ask….but he's only eleven, and….I just…" Jill was stuttering and she felt her face get hot. Suddenly her eyes burned with tears. "It's just…hard for us to be apart….can he stay too?"

Peyton took a breath. Watching Jill get all flustered broke her heart for some reason. Peyton had never really seen Jill get vulnerable before. Peyton was going to say yes, anyway. How could she say no looking into those wounded, beautiful eyes? "I was going to ask you the same thing." Peyton admitted, tears filling her eyes for the second time that evening.

Jill exhaled, and a weight was lifted off her shoulders. "Really?"

"Yes. You guys are brother and sister: you should be together. Your brother will probably be the only boy who'll never break your heart, you know." Peyton smiled fondly, thinking of Derek…she missed him and needed to give him a call.

Jill let out a teary laugh, and she put her hand over her heart in relief. "You're probably right." She looked at Peyton for a second and she was beyond lucky to have her. "This is…so_ awesome_." Jill admitted, and Peyton laughed. "I mean…I don't know how to thank you."

"Honey. You're my family. You don't have to thank me."

"Still…" Jill's breath caught in her throat, and she could only whisper, "Thanks for saving us."

Peyton exhaled and her eyes filled with tears again. That was the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her…she had been saved plenty of times, but never did the saving until now…and Peyton was so grateful that she could because in a way, it saved her too. "Come here." She playfully demanded, and Jill got up from her seat at the table and fell into Peyton's warm embrace. "You're going to make me cry!"

"Sorry." Jill replied with a teary laugh. "I love you." It felt different than it did over a text message. Jill held Peyton tightly and didn't want to let go.

"I love you too Jillie." Peyton whispered into her cousin's shoulder. Nobody had ever said _I love you_ to her so honestly like Jill just had. Not to mention, doing it twice in one day. In those moments it seemed like everything was going to be OK. One day, they would wake up and everything would be OK.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The next morning, Peyton woke up with a smile on her face: she was determined to figure out a way to get DC to Tree Hill. Peyton would do whatever it took now that she knew for sure it was what Jill wanted. The pair had been through so much together it would be cruel of Peyton to keep them apart.

Peyton mind seemed calm as she was going through the paperwork on her desk. It seemed like a different place than last night when her and Lucas were fighting. Peyton tried not to think of him: she needed a distraction.

Just then, Peyton's cell phone went off signaling a call from an unknown number. "Hello?" There was a slight breath on the other line and Peyton grew cautious. "Hello?"

_"Hi…is this Peyton? I'm looking for Peyton Sawyer: I have to speak with her now! It's Suzie, Suzie Cooper." _

Peyton's heart started pounding: she immediately thought of DC and now she was terrified. "Suzie, this is Peyton, is everything OK?" Peyton had never heard Suzie sound this petrified. _Oh, God. _

_"Oh, thank God! Have you heard from DC?" _

Peyton put her hand over her heart, and put herself in front of her desk in case she lost her footing. Something was up here. "Not today I haven't. Why, what's wrong?" it was than that Peyton heard Suzie's tears on the other end of the line. _Oh my God, _Peyton thought again.

_"Lord, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. DC's not here! We can't find him." Suzie ended her reveal with a heart-wrenching sob._ _"We can't find him: he isn't anywhere!" _

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_You all better__** REVIEW**__ if you want to see DC again. Kidding…but not really. _


	7. They Bring Me to You

_Chapter Six_

They Bring Me to You

"You ready to go, P?" Brooke called into Peyton's office at the studio after she used the restroom. Brooke, Haley, and Peyton decided to "mend" by going out for a nice sit down breakfast. None of them seemed too busy, since Haley didn't start work 'till 9 on Tuesdays. "Haley said she'd meet us at the restaurant for breakfast."

"Yeah, hold on." Peyton was finishing up some last minute things on her laptop. "Alright I'm ready." She grabbed her purse, and as she was heading over to her friend, the phone went off. Peyton looked to the phone, to Brooke and back again. Brooke saw the look on Peyton's face that said it could be something important; it wasn't like Peyton to desert work calls. "I'll make it quick."

Brooke rolls her eyes. "Fine, I'll wait. Don't get mad at me if you hear my stomach growling. I need food."

Peyton laughs before picking the phone from its base and putting it to her ear. "Red Bedroom Records." A pause. "Hello?"

"_Hi…I'm looking for Peyton Sawyer. Whoever you are, get her on the phone, I have to speak with her. It's Suzie, Suzie Cooper." _

Peyton remembered speaking with Suzie a few days ago, so she definitely recognized her voice; she sounded borderline calm and borderline freaking out.

"Suzie, this is Peyton. Is everything OK?" Brooke took a seat on the plush red couch, sitting up straight. She knew then and there: lunch would have to wait.

"_Oh, Thank God! Peyton, have you heard from David?!" _

Peyton frowned. "No, not today I haven't. Why? What's wrong?" Peyton could hear Suzie's tears from the receiver.

"_Lord, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. He's not here! We can't find him." _She ended the reveal with a heart wrenching sob. _"We can't find him. He isn't anywhere." _

Peyton nearly fainted, and her heart dropped so far down in her chest she thought it disappeared. "What?" Her voice rose as nerves took over. "What do you mean you can't find him! Where is he!"

"Peyton!" Brooke jumped up from the couch in concern. When Peyton turned to face her, the brunette saw tears in Peyton's eyes. She was immediately at her best friend's side, rubbing her arm comfortingly.

"_I mean, I mean he went to bed and then when I went to wake him up in the morning he was gone!" _

"Why did you wait so long to to tell me!" Peyton's heart started to pound. "Somebody could've taken him!" Peyton covered her mouth to stop from crying out.

_"I know, believe me I know. I'm so sorry!" _

As if that was going to be enough. Her cousin was only 11 and could've been kidnapped, for all she knew. Peyton wanted to yell out and scream, but there was a commotion on the other line, and suddenly there was a man's voice speaking.

_"Peyton?" _

"Yeah, I'm still here!" Peyton yelled back, frustrated with tears already staining her cheeks. She harshly wiped them away.

The man's voice was calm and steady. _"This is Gerry. I apologize, I was supposed to speak with you."_

"Where is he then! You're scaring me!"

_"I think he's ran away. We called the police and they surveyed everything. All his __stuff's been packed. Every single dresser drawer is empty. He's even taken the balls he uses to juggle. He hides those in the back of the bathroom cabinet because my son Max __takes them to play with and D__C__ gets annoyed. There' s no way someone could've gotten into the house, we have an alarm that would go off. I checked to see if any of the windows or anything have been broken, I haven't seen a thing." _

"What about his bedroom window? He told me there was one in his room."

_"The window was closed and locked when __DC __went to bed last night and it was the same way this morning. It wasn't broken or cracked and I installed every single window on the property, so I know that none of them can be opened from the outside." _

"So what am I supposed to do!" Peyton cried. "You're in New Hampshire and I'm here."

"_Stay put," Gerry said firmly. "I'm going to speak with my daughter __Nora__ to see if David has mentioned anything to her. There's a great possibility he might've run away to you. I'm going to call you back." _

Peyton could do nothing but nod. Her head was spinning. How the hell could DC manage to make it all the way to Tree Hill from where he was? A sick feeling grew in her stomach. She couldn't just stay here and do nothing while her cousin was out there somewhere all by himself. Anything could go wrong…with that thought her knees began to tremble, and the phone dropped from her sweaty hands to the desk underneath it.

Brooke was panicking inside. She forced herself to stay strong. It would be disastrous if she was second to fall apart. She approached her best friend, fully intent on comforting her, hugging her, telling her it was all going to be alright. DC was a smart boy, chances are he'd make it over.

Who the hell was she kidding.

Peyton had to remain rational. But she couldn't because she was angry, terrified, and upset. "I can't believe this is fucking happening," she swore to Brooke; she couldn't really think of anything else to do and she hated it. Hated it.

"He couldn't of gone far," Brooke reasoned. "Maybe he changed his mind and is on his way back."

Peyton shook her head and said nothing. There was no chance DC would go all the way back if he already made up his mind to do something like this. The room was silent. Horribly silent, as Peyton sat and thought about her cousin David who she loved dearly, and how badly she wanted him to be safe. She thought about all the mistakes she'd made that led to this situation: not calling him enough. Not fighting harder to get him to Tree Hill. Not taking no for an answer. The tears threatened to spill as she blamed DC's father, they spilled as she blamed Suzie and Gerry for letting him get away and they spilled as she blamed herself.

Both broken hearted women jumped when Peyton's cell phone rang. Peyton freed herself from Brooke's embrace and hurried to answer. She wasted no time in looking at Caller I.D. "Hello?!"

"_Peyton, honey, it's your father." _

"You told me he was safe in New Hampshire!" Peyton yelled, causing Brooke to jump out of her skin. "That's what you said!"

_ "He was." _

"I wanted him! I wanted him here with me!"

_"Peyton, please don't yell at me." _

Peyton started crying again, her eyes blurry with tears. "I wanted him here with me and his sister and you said he was settled. Fucking settled! He obviously isn't!"

_ "When I spoke to Suzie and Gerry-" _

Peyton cut him off. "Why didn't you let me speak to them?"

_"Peyton, listen to me. I know you're upset, and I know you're scared-" _

"Of course I'm scared!" Peyton yelled louder. "I'm fucking scared out of my mind, Dad! DC ran away. I don't know where he is. Suzie doesn't know where he is. And you're no help, because you're on your fucking boat in the middle of the ocean!"

_"I'm trying to help you now, as best I can, Peyton." _

At her father's soft and soothing voice, Peyton began to crumble in her own tears and dismay. "Good, because I don't know what to do. What do I do?!"

_"You need to stay as calm as you can. Gerry told me that the police department in Portsmouth has already alerted the department in Tree Hill to keep a look out for all incoming trains, buses, and flights. Where are you?" _

"My office."

_"Stay right there in case someone tries to reach you." _

"Gerry told me he was going to speak with his daughter to see if she knows anything, he was going to call me back."

_"Okay. Did you try calling David? Jill told me he had a cell phone."_

Peyton's heart jumped at the opportunity, but then it fell deep in her chest. "I don't have his number."

'_That's alright. Does Jill know anything?" _

"No," Peyton answered. "What am I supposed to tell her?"

_"Nothing right now. I mean, you never know. He could've called her." _

Peyton sighed. "Daddy, coming from New Hampshire is so far. What was he thinking?"

"_Probably that he wanted to be with you." _

"God." Peyton shut her eyes, wishing he never had said anything like that. She thought of DC's sweet smile and his genuine innocence, and she started to cry, for fear of anything happening to him and her not being able to do a thing to protect him. "I'm so scared..."

_ "I know you are. But you have to try your best to be strong, okay? Even though David made a stupid decision to run off, he's a smart boy."_

"Please tell me he's going to be okay," Peyton begged with tears running down the bridge of her nose.

_"He's going to be okay," Larry said firmly. "I'm going to hang up, just in case anyone tries to reach me. I'll call you if I hear anything." _

Peyton nodded into the reciever. _"_Okay. I love you."

_"I love you __too__. Now, wipe those tears off your beautiful face and think of how happy that boy's gonna be when he sees you." _

Peyton laughed and cried at the same time. She bid goodbye to her father, hung up the phone, and held on to Brooke for dear life.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

11-year-old David Christopher was already used to the hustle and bustle of busy travel centers, so walking through the entrance of the Portsmouth Bus Terminal and locating the ticketing desk was a breeze. DC made his way through the moving crowd of suitcases and big families, grasping tightly to his navy blue duffel bag and making sure his backpack was secure hanging on his one shoulder. DC decided against waiting in the ticketing line, because he knew that there was no way they'd sell a ticket to him; he was a minor.

Not wanting to look suspicious because security was amongst the travelers, DC set his duffle bag between his feet, sat down on a bench and immediately opened an old copy of _A Series of Unfortunate Events. _It was the fifth installment, and he read it already, but that didn't matter. As he read from page to page, DC tried his very best to listen to the voice in his head that told him not to panic about being alone in a bus terminal: he'd made it this far and he couldn't turn back. But the questions still popped into his head….

_How the hell was he going to buy a ticket? _

DC tried to sneak Gerry's credit card and pay online, but it was impossible to snatch since Gerry always kept it in his wallet, and his wallet in his pocket. Plus, DC didn't feel comfortable using Gerry's money for anything since the boy was already staying in his home and eating his food.

_ Had Gerry and Suzie noticed he was gone?_

Suzie and Gerry were always so attentive, so loving, willing to cater his every need. They were probably so worried about him. The boy immediately felt awful for putting them through this, but then he thought about his big sister Jill who he missed more than he ever thought possible. DC thought about Peyton, whom even he knew wanted to be with him…he thought about Tree Hill, and the prospect that it was even farther away from New York City than New Hampshire was. DC gingerly ran his finger over the text he got from his sister early that morning…

_WHY WASN'T YOUR PHONE ON LAST NIGHT! I TRIED CALLING YOU! YOU'RE COMING TO TREE HILL, LITTLE BROTHER! _

DC smiled. _It was worth it. It was worth it. _If only Jill had texted him sooner, he would not have run. It was too late now, though. DC checked his digital watch: it was nearing 8:30 already. It took him longer than he thought to get to the bus terminal by cab, since Suzie and Gerry's house was far enough already.

DC looked around subtly. There was a young man in a crisp white shirt and black tie, but he was looking deeply into his blackberry, white headphones in his ears. There was a woman feeding fruit to her child. Okay. So he was stuck. Picking up his bags, he made his way to the entrance of the Men's Restroom. DC listened to the roar of the electronic toilet flush, and when he reopened the stall, he saw the frame of an older man who was frantically using a bar of soap to cleanse himself. Puzzled, and ever so cautious, DC grasped his bags and made his way to the sinks, telling himself to ignore the man. However when he made his way over, the man released a nasty stench that was hard to disregard.T he man poured sink water into his hands and splashed it over his face. He had short red hair, and his eyes gave off neuroses.

Averting his young gaze before the stranger noticed, DC reached up and waved his hands in front of the electronic sink, letting the water splash onto his skin. Immediately after he moved to the soap dispenser and pushed the button, but no soap was coming out.

"There's some in this one." For the first time, the man spoke up. His voice was awkward and slightly jittery. DC looked him over warily. The man gestured to the soap dispenser beside him.

DC moved over cautiously and watched as the pink gooey soap fell into his waiting hands. "Excuse me…" he said politely, and the jittery man moved aside so DC could rinse.

The man eyed DC's duffle bag and his backpack, but DC saw and pulled his luggage to rest against his legs. He checked his watch, and sighed when he looked at the time. He was going to have to think of something and fast if he wanted to get to Tree Hill before Jill saw him on Channel 4. The boy grabbed his bag, fully intent on leaving, when the man behind him spoke once more.

"Your shoe's untied."

DC looked at the man, and then looked down at his gray Converse. The white shoelaces were in disarray against the bathroom floor. "Oh. Thanks." DC dropped to his knees to tie a double knot. However, his nervousness got the best of him and his hands shook, causing him to repeatedly drop the lace or ruin the maneuver.

"Why are you in such a hurry, kid? Going somewhere?"

DC paused and debated on whether or not he should answer the guy. Then he realized it. All he needed was a ticket. _A ticket. _DC turned to the man and his attire of used tan corduroys and brown plain shoes. "Actually, yeah." The boy's heart was pounding furiously, but he couldn't think of a better plan, and even if he could, there was no time anyway. "Can you help me?"

The man's teal eyes flickered, as he looked this boy over. He really didn't have anything better to do except shoot up, but he couldn't because he ran out and he had no money to get more. "Help you? How?"

"I need you to buy me a bus ticket." _Whoa_. That sounded _a lot_ better in his head. This man was a stranger who looked like he needed drugs. He could be a lunatic.

"Yeah right."

This was by far, the _craziest, most risky, stupidest _thing DC had ever done. But he'd get to see his sister after months apart. He'd get to be where he really wanted to be. For the first time ever, _he could make it happen…_all by himself. For right now, that was enough to ignore every warning pounding into the his head. "I'm going to see my sister. I'll pay you." DC told the man boldly. "I'll give you the money for my ticket, and extra." The boy thought quickly. "200 bucks." DC had counted and counted all the money he had saved up, which was always stored on the top shelf in his closet, behind his dress clothes. When he left for New Hampshire it was the first thing he placed into his suitcase. Sitting cross-legged on the wooden floor in the bedroom he shared with Max, DC counted the bills again by daylight. After doing some research on Gerry's laptop, DC realized he had enough money to buy a one-way ticket to Tree Hill, along with cab fare. The boy patted his back that night and thanked his big sister for teaching him how to manage his money.

The man's eyes widened and his lips curled into a smirk. "200..."

"All I need you to do is buy the ticket with the money that I give you, give me the ticket and keep the extra cash for yourself…then we never have to see each other again."

"You can't do this by yourself?"

"I already checked. They won't sell to me because I'm a minor. Unless you want to fill out forms…" DC surveyed the man over. "Which I don't think is a very good idea."

"You think this is? I could be crazy."

DC straightened up his shoulders and kept his eyes cold. "Look, I just need to get out of here. Can you help me or not?"

"What if I just take the money and run?" The man challenged, crossing his arms. "You wouldn't be able to catch me."

"I'll walk out of this bathroom and tell one of the many police officers out there that you sexually assaulted me and then took my cash." _God Bless Jill for raising me right! _

The man's smile vanished and his eyes hardened. "Show me the money."

DC obliged, taking off his backpack swiftly, then reaching into the biggest pocket and pulling out a small manila envelope. He pulled out wad of cash held together by a blue paperclip and held it in his right hand. "This is for the ticket." DC then quickly pulled out $200 and held it in his left hand, fanning it in the man's face. "Extra, your pay."

The man nodded in appreciation. "Nice work, kid. Gimme the deposit first." The man desperately reached over for the money in DC's left hand, but the boy was too quick and backed away a few steps.

"Do I have your word?" DC watched the man roll his eyes. "You try anything stupid, I'm going straight to the cops. Remember that."

The man gritted his teeth together. "Fine. I'll do it."

"I need to get to Tree Hill, North Carolina on the bus that leaves at 9:15; bus 314A." The man nodded. DC eyed him carefully before handing him the $200 deposit, which the man shoved into his back pocket. DC motioned to the money in the blue paper clip. "Put this in the front pocket."

The man grumbled a curse but did as DC told him to. "What's your name? I need it so I can get the ticket from the ticket lady."

DC tensed but didn't blink an eye, just as Jill taught him to do. "Peter. Peter Cooper."

"OK Peter. Lets do this so I can get the fuck out of here."

"Wait." DC pulled his backpack onto his shoulders and held his duffle bag securely in one hand, while at the same time putting his navy blue hoodie over his head. "When you buy the ticket, I'll be waiting by the first gift shop on the left…just casually drop it by one of the displays and I'll get it." DC motioned to the entrance of the bathroom. "You go out first so we're separated."

"Yeah whatever."

DC huffed in frustration but watched as the man dutifully left the bathroom. DC counted to ten in his head before exiting and going in the opposite direction. After a few steps, DC turned back around and saw that the man casually met his gaze before heading to the ticket desk. _It was working! Jill's gonna be so proud of me. _DC looked back every few steps and saw that the man was talking to the woman at the ticket desk. The boy walked into a gift shop and saw that there were three police officers right across the way.

The boy waited anxiously in the gift shop, browsing random books and trying to remain inconspicuous. After 15 minutes, DC saw the man enter the shop and covertly place the ticket behind a book on display. DC mouthed _thank you_ and the man nodded, turned around, and disappeared. After a few minutes DC walked over to the display and quickly put the ticket in his pocket.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Gerry Cooper paced back in forth in his living room, wiping a hand over his face. He was still barefoot after peacefully sipping coffee in his kitchen; that is until Suzie ran in at 7:45am to tell him DC was not in his bed. Since then, the man's mind had been in a scramble, but calmed after both he and the Portsmouth police figured that DC ran away.

Gerry did his best to remain stern as his two children sat in front of him, on separate mahogany dining room chairs, swinging their legs back and forth and remaining suspiciously ambivalent. "OK, kids," Gerry said, trying to keep his tone even. "I need you to tell me what happened to DC."

Nora and her little brother Max looked at each other, but kept absolutely silent.

"_Now,_" Gerry said firmly, and he stopped pacing. "This is very serious. You won't get in trouble." Gerry eyed his kids closely, but they kept poker face; he should've known, he'd get nothing out of them if he asked them together. He had to go one by one. Gerry walked slowly over to where his son Max was sitting, and he easily picked up the chair. Max giggled as his father carried him across the room away from Nora. Gerry set Max's chair hard down on the ground with a loud _thump_ and Max quietened instantly. "Max..." Gerry enunciated slowly, kneeling on his haunches so that he could stare his son straight in his blue eyes. "Tell me where DC went."

Max stared at his father, before shrugging. "Don't know."

"Maxwell Cooper!" Gerry shouted, making Max and Nora shiver in their chairs. "I told you this is serious! Tell your father, right now!"

"Gerry..." Suzie warned, but her complaint faded.

Max shrugged. "I don't know, Daddy."

Gerry breathed out a heavy sigh, letting his shoulders slump. He always swore he'd never whip out the belt on his children, as his father had done to him. Gerry watched as Max stole another glance to his sister across the room, and Gerry intercepted it and walked across the room.

"Nora this is your father," Gerry said, crossing his arms. "DC's cousin Peyton is very worried and upset; do you know something?" Silence. Nora twisted her lips and fidgeted on her chair. "Nora Jane! Tell me where DC is! Right this minute."

Nora looked up to her unmoving father. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, slowly enunciating, _"N. __C.__" _

"What is that?" Suzie wondered, standing next to her husband.

"_Not a chance," _Gerry answered firmly.

"Where's the 'A', then!" Suzie yelled worriedly, hitting Gerry on the forearm.

"North Carolina," Nora clarified, brushing her wavy black locks from her face. "DC's on his way to Tree Hill, North Carolina."

"_What!" _Suzie yelled. "How?"

"I knew it!" Gerry shouted. "How, Nora?"

"Greyhound bus number 314A, departs 9:15AM."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was only five past nine.

Jill already wanted to get the _fuck _out of school. People wouldn't stop fooling around; the work was tedious, and she just didn't want to be there. Her body was heavy with exhaustion, her brain was spinning, and she just had so much to do. Not to mention the idea of starting a girl's soccer team was weighing heavily on her: it was Jill's idea, so she was taking most responsibility. The only thing saving Jill's behind was the fact that it was a half-day today and she nearly forgot about it. She suspected Peyton did, but that was no matter; Jill and Michelle had made plans to walk back to TRIC anyhow. Both girls crossed their fingers that they wouldn't encounter anymore heated love arguments.

Before that, though, Jill was looking for one person in particular, and she found him shuffling books around in his locker. Jill recognized him by his neon orange sneakers. She crossed her arms and leaned on the blue lockers. "Excuse me, Columbo?"

Isaiah jumped and slammed his locker shut in reflex. "Holy fu-hey new girl. You scared me there."

"We need to talk." Jill eyed the hallway passerby carefully until most kids filtered into their classrooms for second period. "Because now you know things."

Isaiah laughed nervously, flipping his long hazlenut brown hair and shuffling his shoes. "Uh...what...what things?" Jill's glare was like dry ice and it gave Isaiah chills. _Don't mess with the fuckin' new girl. _

"I'm only going to ask you this once: do you or do you not know things about my family name in soccer?"

Isaiah's hands became drenched in sweat. He knew guys were supposed to be "tough" by society's standards, but he wasn't tough. He knew it and so did everyone else. "I'm not sure what you mean..." he tried, but Jill ground her jaw. "I mean...yes. Yes, I do." Isaiah prepared for a hard slap, but nothing came.

"Did you tell anyone?" Jill asked evenly, and that freaked Isaiah out. He'd much rather have her screeching at him.

"No. Absolutely not. Michelle threatened to skin me alive if I did."

Jill swallowed, her teal eyes looking Isaiah up and down, from the roots of his scalp down his long, gangly legs, to his shuffling feet covered in thin neon fabric.

"Jill...please don't be mad at me..." Isaiah begged, his eyes burning and his features soft.

It was the first time Isaiah referred to Jill by her real name. "Why didn't you just ask me? You could've just asked instead of going behind my back."

"I don't know," Isaiah answered honestly. "I'm sorry."

"That was pretty shady," Jill said, her honesty cutting into Isaiah's gut like a sharp blade. "It makes me feel like I can't trust you."

"You can," Isaiah assured her. "You can...I'm not going to tell anyone, I swear to you." Isaiah boldly grabbed Jill's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I understand you might be mad-"

"I'm not mad."

Isaiah nodded tersely and swallowed. "So we're cool? We can be friends again."

Jill laughed and Isaiah deflated in relief. "We were never not friends."

"Ok cool." Isaiah locked his locker and turned back to his friend. "Before we stop talking about this for now, can I just say one thing?"

"What?" Jill asked warily.

Isaiah laid his arm across his chest, the other across his back and bowed low as if Jill were indeed Royalty. "I bow to you, Miss Bennett."

Jill rolled her eyes and playfully shoved Isaiah to the side in the empty hallway. "Oh, shut up!" Isaiah laughed and the pair walked arm-in-arm to their next classes. "Actually, you'd make a good Mr. Darcy."

Isaiah straightened up and pursed his lips, sauntering in his step. "I would, wouldn't I?"

"Only if Michelle were Elizabeth," Jill smirked, and laughed heartily when she saw Isaiah's cheeks redden.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

It was already five past nine. DC slung his bag over his shoulder and began to make his way over to the terminal to board the bus. He walked quickly with his eyes peeled low to the ground, and when he passed a police officer his pace quickened.

The police officer listened attentively to his radio, before following DC, his heavy steps echoing on the polished floors. DC kept walking, but he went on alert since he saw the cop out of his peripheral vision. DC quickened his step, his little feet carrying him as fast as they could without going into a run.

"Hey, kid!" The cop called, and he put a hand on DC's shoulder. DC trembled but kept still, and turned to face the man. "Are you lost?"

DC said nothing, just shook his head no. The words froze in his throat.

"Where are your parents?" The cop asked calmly, bending on his haunches.

"I...I have to go," DC mumbled meekly, holding onto his backpack. He checked his watch. _9:08am_

"Go where?" The cop's radio went off with the indistinguishable, _Attn; missing boy around 11 years thought to be at Portsmouth Bus Terminal _

DC's eyes widened and he backed up, his face ashen pale.

The cop stood up and slowly approached DC. "Kid, it's OK. I can help you."

"No..." DC muttered, trembling in his shoes. The cop slowly reached for him. If he was caught, all of this would have been for nothing. "No." A few feet away, DC saw the man who bought him the ticket, watching warily. "I'm with my friend."

The cop turned to the redheaded man, now holding a coffee and a brown paper bag. He immediately darted his eyes and moved to walk away. "That's your friend?"

DC watched the man sadly. It'd be worse for the man if he got caught than if DC did; he was probably still high on something illegal. So, DC shook his head no.

The cop reached for DC's arm gently. "You should come with me."

"Hey!" DC and the cop turned at the red headed man, who was walking boldly toward them. "Leave him alone!"

The cop held DC in his arms and DC whined and tried to fight him off. "No!"

"Kid, relax! I'm not going to hurt you," the cop told him.

Frantic footsteps stole the cop's attention as the man hurled the piping hot coffee, hitting the cop square in the shoulder. The liquid spilt all over his body and scalded him. "Son of a-" The cop ran full speed towards the junkie man, and DC could only watch.

"RUN!" The man shouted, as the cop pinned him to the ground.

DC sprinted without another look in the oppossite direction towards the gate. He pushed his way through the heavy doors and welcomed the cold New Hampshire air. DC skillfully weaved his way through a crowd of arrived passengers to lose any followers. DC slowed his pace just as he arrived to the doors of Bus 314A. "Is this going to Tree Hill? North Carolina?"

"Just in time, kid," the burly bus driver answered in an accent. He looked amused as DC clambered onto the bus with the a huge grin on his face. "We were gonna leave you."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Jill walked into Peyton's office with Michelle in tow; since the other night didn't work out, Jill offered to introduce Michelle and Peyton then. Jill knew Peyton had planned to go out to lunch with Brooke, so if she could catch her before then...

"Hey!" Jill greeted happily. "We had a half-day today that I forgot about. I wanted to introduce you to-" Brooke and Peyton looked over, their faces as pale as ghosts, and they seemed afraid to move. "...What's going on?"

"Honey," Peyton whispered, her voice shaking. Jill noticed Peyton was leaning on her desk. "Can I speak with you privately?"

Jill's heart began to race. "Um..." Jill turned to Michelle, who looked just as concerned. "Peyton, this is my friend Michelle; Michelle this is my cousin Peyton." Michelle awkwardly waved hello. "You can...you can tell me here. This is making me nervous." Jill turned to Brooke, who sat on the couch, remaining tight-lipped.

Peyton pressed two fingers to her lips; there was way to escape Jill's glance. "Jillie...DC's not in New Hampshire. We think he ran here." Peyton proceeded to tell Jill all she knew, all about the call from Gerry and Suzie Cooper, about the police, about what they saw, everything. Through it all Jill seemed to deflate, enrage, and then deflate again.

"_WHAT!" _Jill shouted, making Brooke's heart jump from her ribcage. "What do you mean? Where is he right now!"

Jill shouted so loud it felt like the ground was shaking; she felt Michelle's hand on her arm and almost threw it off. Peyton's phone went off, cutting through the silence; Peyton answered it immediately. "Hello? Hi, Gerry...he is! How do you know!...I understand...Yes, Jill knows..." Peyton scrambled for a pen and the legal pad on her desk to jot down what Gerry told her. "Thank you...thank you so much- Suzie's on her way here? Oh...Ok, thank you." Peyton exhaled and nearly collapsed. "Gerry says according to Nora that DC's on his way here; Nora and Max tried to cover for him."

"How do you know they're not lying?" Brooke asked, standing up from the couch.

"Those kids don't lie," Jill stated firmly, and Brooke was silenced. "They may withhold the truth, they may keep quiet on somethings, but they never lie." If Brooke looked carefully, she could see the tears lining Jill's eyes. " Jill's phone vibrated in her pocket and she frantically grabbed it. "DC sent me a text message!" Jill read it aloud to the eager room: " '_Phone's gonna die, on my way to Tree Hill...I'll be there __around 9 tonight. __Please don't be mad at me. On bus. OK. TQM." _Peyton breathed out in relief, almost falling into Brooke's arms.

"What's 'TQM?'" Brooke asked, rubbing Peyton's back.

_"Te Quiero Mucho, _it's Spanish for 'I love you very much.'" DC signs his messages that way sometimes so that I know it's him," at Brooke and Peyton's shocked looks, Jill said, "It's just little tricks we taught each other."

"How long will the bus ride take, do you think?" Michelle wondered aloud.

"At least eight hours," Brooke answered, grabbing Peyton's jacket for her. "Which means you'll be waiting at a bus terminal for that long...?"

"Yeah," Peyton and Jill answered unanimously, before looking at each other and heading for the door. Brooke could do nothing but follow, and Michelle was the last one out.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"You didn't have to come with me," Jill told Michelle as they sat on uncomfortable chairs in the sleepy bus terminal. Peyton and Brooke were busy with someone at the kiosk, trying to get information about the bus DC was on.

"I wanted to," Michelle insisted. "It's not like I had anything better to do. Plus, I felt like you needed a friend."

Jill gently nudged Michelle's shoulder and sent her a soft smile. "Thanks."

After a moment of silence, Michelle said, "So you have a brother, huh?"

Jill chuckled, rubbing her hands together. "Yeah...yeah, my little brother; Everyone calls him DC but his name's David after our dad. DC's a good boy, _rarely_ ever impulsive like this...which is why I'm kind of freaking out."

"It looks like everything's gonna work out; we know what bus he's on, he texted you...seems like everything's gonna work out. It's just a long wait 'till he gets here."

Jill said nothing, instead heard commotion coming from the kiosk, so she walked over to where Peyton and Brooke were arguing with the clerk.

"What do you mean he's not on the bus?" Peyton asked, her voice rising. Brooke grabbed her arm to calm her down.

"What's going on?" Jill asked, joining Peyton and leaning on the kiosk desk.

"There's nobody by the name of David Bennett on the bus," the stocky clerk explained in his baritone voice.

"That's impossible," Peyton argued. "I want to see a list of all the passengers on that bus; bus number 314A from Portsmouth, New Hampshire."

"I can't do that, Ma'am."

"Why not?" Brooke nearly yelled, before quieting down. "I mean, why not...sir?"

"I'm not allowed to disclose passenger information: it's protocol."

"Excuse me, did you say you were looking for a David Bennett, coming from Portsmouth?" The women turned when a tall, jocky police officer with a red buzz cut approached the kiosk.

"Yes...yes we did," Jill answered, and both Brooke and Peyton turned to the man eagerly.

"I'm Officer Keating with the Tree Hill Police Department; we were advised to keep a look out for a young 11-year-old boy coming in on bus 314A from Portsmouth," Keating motioned to an anxious Peyton, "are you his legal guardian?"

"Yes," Peyton answered immediately. "I mean...yes. There are arrangements for him to come stay with me."

"Then why would he run?" Keating asked, squinting suspiciously.

"I don't know, we're trying to figure that one out," Brooke said angrily, and Jill put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm his older sister," Jill spoke up. "He ran to see me; he's not in crisis except for the fact that he's a minor and could get hurt traveling by himself. We just need to make sure he's on the bus-"

"I told them I'm not allowed to do that, Officer," the clerk broke in, sitting smugly behind the kiosk with his ugly charcoal uniform.

Officer Keating took a long look at the women and girl at the kiosk, trying to decide his next move. "How old's your brother?"

"He's 11, almost 12. He's got thin, floppy brown hair and wears glasses. He's got chocolate brown eyes and a small birthmark under his bottom lip."

Officer Keating nodded; it matched the description he received earlier in dispatch. Keating radioed the call in and turned to the kiosk clerk. "I'm going to need to see a list of all the passengers on Bus 314A please."

Brooke and Peyton breathed out in relief and held hands, watching as the kiosk clerk printed out an entire passenger list for Bus 314A, departing at 9:15am, and handed it to Keating. Keating looked over the list carefully, with both women, Jill and Michelle watching. Keating gestured to the kiosk clerk, "He's right; there's no David Bennett listed here."

"What? No," Peyton protested.

"Can I see that? Thanks." Jill grabbed the list right from Officer Keating's hands and Brooke's mouth dropped in shock.

"Miss-" Keating warned, taking a step toward Jill, but Jill pulled back and Peyton put her arm around her.

"It's OK," Michelle spoke up, crossing her arms. "My father's a cop with the THPD. He's been in the force for 15 years; look him up, Sgt. Patrick Finnerty."

"Never heard of him," Officer Keating replied.

"Well...you are a little young," Michelle replied in her usual snarky manner.

Meanwhile, Jill was carefully scanning the passenger list, and as she went down each name her heart sank more and more. Until... "Wait!" she called, showing the list to Keating. "This name, this name here," Jill motioned with her finger.

"Peter Cooper?" Keating recited doubtfully.

"That's my brother!" Jill said. "Cooper is the last name of the family he was staying with in New Hampshire; I've known them since I was a baby. Peter is the name of their tabby cat! It's only something my brother would know. That's my brother, it has to be."

"Why would he use that name instead of his legal name," Keating said. "That's fraud."

"He's just scared!" Jill insisted, tears entering her eyes. "I know my brother: I raised him, OK? He texted me 40 minutes ago saying he was on his way on the bus, saying he'd get here around 9:00pm tonight!"

"That's when 314A is scheduled to arrive," The kiosk clerk confirmed from across the desk.

"My father is on his way over here," Michelle announced, hanging up her phone. "He had a light day today...officer."

Keating swallowed and scratched the back of his head. "I'll call dispatch."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Six hours later around 3:30pm, Jill had made a habit of pacing the hallway back and forth, back and forth. Peyton and Brooke suggested they all get something to eat, but Jill refused, and Peyton didn't ask again. Michelle kept herself busy by finishing up homework, but Jill couldn't focus on remedial things like that. She fished out her phone and dialed her brother, but it went straight to voicemail. "David Christopher Bennett, when you get off the bus, I'm going to bloody strangle you!" Michelle watched as Jill ran a hand through her hair.

"It makes sense that you're the protective older sister," Michelle commented, shutting her notebook closed and clicking her pen. "I see those qualities in you."

Jill laughed nervously and felt her cheeks heat up like they did whenever someone complimented her. She saw Michelle looking at her gently, and Jill knew that as scary as it was to make new friends and open up, it was the only way to let people get to know you. "Yeah...we've pretty much only had each other for a long time."

"Michelle," came a booming voice behind the girls. A stocky, stout man with bulging muscles and a chiseled body frame approached the pair in a Tree Hill Police Department uniform. "What's going on?"

"Hi Dad," Michelle greeted, running to give the man a big hug. They had the same eyes and cheekbones, same facial structure. "This is my friend Jill."

"Nice to meet you Jill; I'm Pat," Pat reached out to shake Jill's hand and Jill shook it. Pat had a firm handshake and his hands were rough and cracked. He had lines and creases under his face that only a tough job would do. Jill explained the whole situation to Pat, at which she introduced him to Peyton and Brooke, and Pat introduced himself as Sgt. Finnerty to Officer Keating. He asked Peyton a few questions, told her to stay put. He then offered to take Michelle home, but she insisted on staying.

Brooke sat next to Peyton on one of the hard chairs a few feet away from Jill and Michelle. Brooke watched as Peyton shook in her seat, her face losing its color. Brooke put a comforting hand on her back. "Peyton, everything's gonna be fine. DC's on the bus, on his way here...he apparently has an alias, but he's on his way here." Peyton said nothing. "Do you want to try eating something? You didn't eat lunch."

Peyton roughly shook her head no. "I can't think about food right now; it makes me nauseous. But you should...you should make sure the girls eat something. I can wait here."

Brooke glanced over Peyton's shoulder. "Looks like it's take care of," she said, motioning to Peyton's left down the hallway. "Naley's here; they brought food."

Sure enough, Nathan and Haley were walking down the hallway with takeout in their hands, gentle glances on their faces. "Hey," Haley greeted, as Nathan went off to greet Jill first, giving her a comforting hug. "We figured you guys might need food to calm down," Haley met Peyton's gaze but Peyton didn't meet it back. Things were still a little bit awkward between the two women ever since Lindsey found out Peyton wasn't her biggest fan. "Have you heard from DC?"

"Not since he said he got on the bus," Brooke supplied, taking out the Chinese food from the plastic bag.

Haley took a seat next to Peyton, and decided to be gentle. "Peyton...I just wanted to say-" Haley sighed as Peyton stared at her. "I feel like we got off on the wrong foot. Can we just-start over?"

Peyton watched Haley for a moment or two. They had grown apart; she knew that. But not too long ago, the two were great friends. Peyton just wasn't dating Haley's best friend anymore. "You're not going to do that thing where you say, 'Hi, I'm Haley,' are you?"

Haley laughed, and Peyton gave her hand a squeeze. She had her answer.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The rough jolt of the large Greyhound bus coming to a stop woke DC. He had a crick in his neck, he was insanely hungry, and his knees were cramped. Needless to say, when he pulled into the dark bus terminal in Tree Hill, he was ecstatic His heart was pounding, his stomach twisted. DC kept his eyes peeled to the window, and when he saw a certain tall, brown haired freckled girl, he ran to the front of the bus and almost pushed his way off.

"JILL!"

Jill turned and watched as her little brother ran faster than he ever had into her awaiting arms.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-


End file.
